But I've Loved You All Along
by Leonhart17
Summary: Sequel to 'Every Step' and 'Always Leads.' Everyone's home on the Hellmouth, but the Hellmouth itself isn't happy about it.  When it comes for them, can Willow remember everything she learned in England? *AU Season 7*
1. Chapter 1

This entire fic is dedicated to 9kodama for being such a great encouragement and so supportive! Thank you friend!

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Willow stretched as she woke up, her feet colliding with something beneath the sheets, and she smiled as arms curled around her waist, pulling her back toward a soft, warm body. "Mmh, good morning," she breathed, smiling peacefully.

"Morning, sweetie," Tara said, leaning up to press a kiss behind her ear.

"Two more months," Willow reminded her happily. "Why'd we plan the wedding so far away anyway?" she asked, leaning back against Tara and turning her head to meet her fiancée's eyes.

Tara laughed, the sound echoing eagerly in Willow's ears. "That was you," she reminded her. "Remember? Getting married in the fall to avoid 'wedding season.'" She smiled, drawing in a deep breath. "All the falling leaves are pretty, too."

Willow pouted cutely, her bottom lip poking out. "Well, I'm very dumb," she declared.

Tara's hand tightened on the redhead's hip in warning, swatting at her side. "My girl is anything but dumb," she chided.

"I did have the good sense to ask you to marry me before you realized that that might not be true," Willow said, laughing as Tara's fingers tickled over her sides. "You said yes, can't back out now!" she yelped, squirming away from the tickling assault. Tara chased her, the pair rolling as each tried to pin the other. Willow rolled too far, wobbling on the edge of the bed for a second before she fell and crashed to the floor.

"Willow!" Tara called, leaning over the edge to check on her, still laughing. "Are you okay?" she asked, one hand covering her mouth.

Willow was laughing herself as she pushed herself up on her elbows, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, giggling. "I guess you won this time! You're going down next time, lover!"

Tara raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see that happen," she challenged. "I am undefeated, you know."

Willow shrugged, leaning back on her elbows and letting her head rock back on her neck. "Well, if I can be honest, I don't really mind losing that bad." Tara gave her a skeptical look, laughing. "I don't!" Willow protested. "When I lose, you end up on top of me," she reminded her smugly.

Tara laughed, rolling backwards onto the bed. "You're right!" she realized. "Darn, I should lose!"

"Don't start letting me win!" Willow said quickly, sitting up to look over the edge of the bed at her.

Tara looked at her, laughing again. "Oh, of course not!" she agreed. "The fighting is part of the fun."

Willow laughed, pushing herself up on her knees to lean closer, her elbows on the edge of their bed. "Glad it's not the_ only_ fun part," she commented, one hand sliding over Tara's stomach.

"No way!" Tara stated, catching Willow's hand and dragging it up to kiss the back of it. "The best part normally comes after the tickling."

Willow grinned, blushing. "Good to know."

Tara rolled onto her side, craning her head forward to kiss her fiancée softly. "So, what's on the plan for today?" she asked, curling her free arm under her head.

Willow thought about it, pouting as she remembered her schedule. "I've got class in about an hour, actually," she said reluctantly. "Which is a real shame, because I've got this really beautiful blonde in my bed."

Tara lifted an eyebrow. "I think you're forgetting what day it is, sweetheart."

Willow frowned, trying to think. "Um… It's Dawn's first day at the new Hellmouth High," she said. "But Xander and Buffy are giving her a ride to school."

Tara shook her head, smiling. "Not that, more general," she prompted.

"Um…Wednesday?" Willow guessed.

The blonde nodded, smiling. "Which is?"

"The day we have classes together!" Willow remembered suddenly, grinning happily. "Yay! I had forgotten!"

"I noticed," Tara commented with a grin. "Do you want to take the first shower?" Willow pouted again, huffing. "We have class," Tara reminded her. "And I'll make you breakfast," she offered. "Well, I'll make it for everyone, but yours will be special."

Willow laughed. "Special? You mean like I can have powdered sugar _and _strawberries on my pancakes?" she requested.

Tara nodded. "Sure, baby. I was going to sit on your lap and give you kisses, but powdered sugar it is."

The redhead shook her head rapidly, jaw dropping. "No, no! I want the kisses, no powdered sugar, real sugar!"

"Both?" Tara offered sweetly. Willow nodded eagerly, leaning forward to take a kiss early. "Told you my girl's a smarty," she whispered with a smile, grinning as Willow bit her own lip, blushing. The redhead ducked, her long hair falling over her eyes in a move reminiscent of Tara's shy shield from the early days of their relationship. "And beautiful. My girl's gorgeous," Tara sighed, pushing her fiancée's hair back with one finger.

"I _so_ cannot wait to marry you," Willow breathed, kissing her again slowly. "Now I'll be good, and go take my shower…_alone_," she said, trying to coax Tara into joining her.

Tara pursed her lips, giving Willow a final quick kiss. "Good try, sweetheart. Either we all get a good breakfast, or just the two of us can have naughty shower time."

"What's wrong with that?" Willow asked innocently, rolling her eyes as Tara laughed. "I know, I know. Dawn needs a good breakfast on her first day." She pouted. "Little does she know she's costing me precious snuggles with my fiancée."

Tara laughed, mussing her lover's hair as she climbed out of bed. "Cause we never 'snuggle?'" she asked over her shoulder. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we 'snuggle' last night?"

Willow scoffed. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we couldn't snuggle _now_," she commented, pushing herself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Willow…" Tara said slowly, coming back to kiss her forehead as Willow's hands landed on her hips. "We've got our whole lives, remember?"

The redhead sighed with a smile. "Oh yeah," she breathed. "That's not something I would forget." She leaned up for a kiss. "I'll be good, go take my shower."

"We have an appointment at the bakery this afternoon," Tara reminded her, feeling herself being drawn in as Willow's hands guided her between the redhead's knees.

"Ooh, yay," Willow said cheerfully. "Cake!" She stole another kiss. "Wedding cake, even better." She swatted Tara's backside lightly, letting her hand linger. "I find I'm suddenly eager to start my day!"

Tara arched an eyebrow, leaning unconsciously into Willow's hands. "Yeah, because it feels like you're still trying to get me in the shower with you."

Willow shrugged, grinning innocently. "Fine," she said, lifting both hands and wiggling her fingers in demonstration. "Is 'where's my breakfast, woman?' better?" she asked, laughing as both of Tara's eyebrows rose. "And by _that_, of course, I mean that I live to serve your every desire, my queen," she clarified quickly as the blonde's expression didn't change. Her hands caught Tara's left hand as she moved to cross her arms over her chest, the redhead pressing kisses to her engagement ring.

Tara's expression crumbled as she laughed, her hand smoothing over Willow's cheek. "Chill, sweetie. It's only fair I can tease you too."

Willow sighed in relief, flopping backwards on their bed. "You're much better at it than I am," she commented.

"Thank goodness for that," Tara replied, swatting Willow's stomach as it growled. "I'm on it, tummy," she promised, turning to leave the room.

Willow pushed herself up onto her elbows, looking down at her stomach. "Don't listen to her, tummy. If she was really on it, she'd be sitting on us right now," she said to herself, grinning cheerfully as Tara gave her a look over her shoulder. "But we're hungry, so we, as a collective Willow, are going to say 'thank you' to our beautiful fiancée and then shut up," she finished, blowing a kiss across the room.

Tara caught it, slapping it playfully to her butt. "You might be a little crazy, my love," she commented with a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe, but I am not a butt kisser!" Willow called after her as the blonde left the room. "We crazies prefer the term 'whipped!'"

Tara laughed as she left Willow behind in their room, greeting Buffy as she entered the kitchen. She gave the Slayer an appraising look. "Shouldn't Dawn be the one who's nervous?" she asked, taking the cup of coffee Buffy offered. "She's the one who has to go to school on the Hellmouth."

"I've done it, Tara," Buffy interjected. "Every day for three years! I'm not letting my kid sister go there alone."

Tara nodded over the lip of her cup. "That makes sense. So you're going to stick around the school all day? Because Dawn's not going to be happy about that," she reminded the Slayer in warning as she moved to the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs.

"Yeah, don't remind me. And don't tell her, she's in for that surprise later," Buffy said, grimacing.

Tara nodded. "Got it." She found the pancake flour in the pantry and started mixing up a batch of batter. She got the first round on the griddle, watching them closely to make sure they were cooking evenly. She checked the time as they started to bubble softly on the top, letting out a deep breath. "I'm running a little behind this morning, but I've started these, can I you keep an eye on them, flip them?" she asked.

"Sure thing," Buffy agreed, putting her coffee to the side. "Xander's coming over to pick up me and Dawn. Do we have enough for him?"

Tara laughed, nodding. "Sure, but doesn't his wife feed him?"

Buffy laughed, her head falling back on her neck. "Anya? Being domestic? Willow's the one with the domestic wife."

"She hasn't married me yet," Willow chimed in as she joined them in her robe with a towel around her shoulders as she scrubbed her hair dry.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she took over the spatula from the blonde witch. "Yeah, but she _will_," she stated, grinning over her shoulder at her best friend.

Tara gave the redhead a quick kiss, pulling away as Willow started to move her back toward the kitchen island, trying to pin the blonde in with her body. "None of that," she said, quickly straightening her arms to hold Willow at a distance. "We're already running late, sweetheart."

"Well, I _wanted_ to share…" Willow started to say, crossing her eyes as Tara's hand landed over her mouth.

Buffy was facing the stove and cleared her throat loudly. "Thank you, Tara," she said over her shoulder. "I love you, Willow, but I'd prefer thinking that nothing ever goes on in the bathroom of my home."

"You just keep thinking that, buddy," Willow said, pulling Tara's hand off her mouth.

Tara was blushing brightly, grateful that Buffy wasn't facing them. "And before I get embarrassed to death and am unable to marry anyone, I'm going to go get ready for school." She stood on her toes to avoid Willow's attempt to kiss her again, planting a kiss on the redhead's forehead instead. "None of that," she whispered, unable to resist as Willow pouted and giving her another kiss as the redhead stuck her bottom lip out exaggeratedly.

Willow was quick to take advantage, pushing in to deepen the kiss. Tara pulled away after a long minute, pushing Willow back by her shoulders. "Vixen," she breathed. "I'm going to take a shower now. You guys feel free to start eating breakfast without me," she prompted, turning Willow by her shoulders to face away from her.

The old friends exchanged grins, Tara leaving them with a shake of her head. "So, you're going to school with Dawnie?" Willow asked. "That seems like a good idea. Do you have a cover to tell Dawn?"

The Slayer shook her head as she flipped the pancakes. "She's getting better at taking care of herself," she admitted. "She staked the vamp last night with minimal screwing around, but it's the Hellmouth. You remember what it was like going to school there."

"Hey, I know," Willow affirmed. "I don't blame you. She's not going to like it though."

Buffy sighed, nodding. "No, she's not."

"Who's not what?" Dawn asked as she entered, still in her pajamas.

"Oh, um I think I spilled something on a top I borrowed and Buffy was just saying that she's not going to be happy if I can't get the stain out," Willow covered, taking a sip of her coffee to hide her smile.

Buffy glanced over her shoulder at her sister as she continued to work on their breakfast. "How come you're not ready for school yet?" she asked, sliding some pancakes onto a plate. "It starts in a little bit."

Dawn snorted, stealing her sister's abandoned coffee cup only to have Willow take it back from her. "Like you have any room to fuss about me being late to school," she reminded Buffy. "And you were younger than me when you started drinking coffee," she chided Willow.

"Yeah, yeah, but we're your elders, so you have to respect us," Buffy responded smugly, handing a plate to her sister.

Dawn rolled her eyes, carrying her plate to the dining room table. Tara joined them after a short time, her fingers weaving her hair into a braid as she took a seat. She stole a sip of Willow's orange juice and the redhead speared several pancakes onto a plate for her.

"Thank you," Tara said, patting her fiancée on the thigh in gratitude. "Dawn, aren't you ready to go yet?"

The teen rolled her eyes. "No, since I have twenty minutes to get ready to go," she answered, eating her breakfast. "Willow's still not ready either!"

The two blondes exchanged grins, neither commenting. Xander joined them without knocking, letting himself in the front door. "How are my ladies today?" he asked, grabbing up the rest of the pancakes.

Willow arched an eyebrow at him. "Anya lets you refer to us like that?" she asked teasingly.

He swallowed a quick bite, shrugging. "You're going to learn this once you get married, Will, but what your wife lets you do, and what you do when she's not there, are completely different things."

"Excuse me?" Tara asked, arching an eyebrow at the well-dressed contractor.

Xander choked on his juice, pounding on his chest with one hand. "Oh, um, I mean, of course Willow would never! She's a much better person than I am!"

"She already knows that," Willow replied, sticking her tongue out at her friend. Tara cleared her throat and Willow jumped, smiling sheepishly. "I mean…"

"It's fine, sweetie," Tara interrupted, her hand sliding into the back of her lover's hair. "I trust you." Her eyes shifted to Xander. "And Anya…could beat you up."

"That is a very good point. Willow, your wife is very wise!" Xander stated, nodded quickly in agreement. "As per usual, everyone should ignore me!"

"She's not my wife yet!" Willow protested. "But I love the way it sounds!"

Tara laughed, her hand on Willow's leg sliding gently back and forth. "It does sound pretty good," she agreed, leaning over to whisper into her ear. "You did say _two_ months, didn't you?"

"Yep," Willow said. "A long time." Dawn stood up to get ready for school and Willow leaned back to get a glimpse of the clock. "Unlike the short amount of time I have to get ready for class. You guys have fun on the Hellmouth! We'll bring you back some cake!" she offered before rushing up the stairs.

"Ooh, cake?" Xander asked even as he finished another pancake.

Tara laughed, nodding. "Yeah, we're trying wedding cakes after classes today."

"Sweet! Bring us back samples and we can help!" Xander said excitedly. "I'm good at cake."

Tara laughed, nodding as she gathered the dishes on the table. "Will do," she assured him.

Willow and Dawn returned to the ground floor together, both dressed for their day. Dawn glared as Buffy moved to follow her and Xander out the door, but was mollified as her sister produced the cell phone she'd bought her as a present.

Their classes all dragged on, Willow surprised to get a call from Buffy in the middle of her afternoon lecture. She gave Tara a nudge with her knee to get her attention, tilting the screen of the phone so that the blonde could read it before she ducked out of their classroom.

"Buffy, what's up?" she asked, already anxious to be getting a call the first day on the Hellmouth. "Is Dawn okay?"

"Dawn had a little run in with some zombies, or something. 'Manifested spirits controlled by a talisman,' but we already took care of that, so that's not actually what I was calling about," Buffy said. "I need you here, at the school."

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, pacing anxiously in the hall.

There was a dramatic pause, Buffy's tone serious. "Spike is sick, or nuts, or something. He's in the basement here. I guess he's been squatting, or something, but he's raving like he's crazy. It's like he doesn't know me."

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Willow asked. "What could have happened to make him go crazy?"

"I don't know!" Buffy responded. "He hasn't been around much this summer, but I just figured I'd been managing to avoid him somehow."

"So he hasn't done any jobs for us lately? Nothing that might explain this?"

"Nothing I can think of," the Slayer said. "I gave him a hundred bucks to help with a nest, but that was at least a month ago. Can you come over here? I know you guys have the cake thing this afternoon, but maybe he might recognize you."

"Yeah, okay," Willow agreed, sighing. "I'll be there in ten minutes." They hung up and she ducked back into the classroom, whispering the situation into Tara's ear as she gathered her bag. The blonde nodded, accepting a kiss on the cheek before Willow bolted back out of the classroom.

It only took a few minutes to get to the high school, walking across campus and catching a bus across town to the new high school. Half of the campus was still under construction and she caught sight of Buffy and Xander milling around outside the main entrance.

"Where's Dawn?" she asked as she joined them.

Buffy took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair. "The principal had some questions about the destruction caused by the zombie-whatever-they-were things." She met her friend's eyes with a rueful grin. "And he offered me a job."

Willow blinked. "Whoa. So there's your cover for keeping an eye on Dawn on the Hellmouth," she commented. "What are you going to do at a school?" she asked, hoping belatedly that the question didn't sound insulting.

The Slayer gave her a look, smirking, knowing instinctively what her best friend was thinking. "Guidance councilor?" she said. "That's the best way I can describe it. The new principal seems to know a little something about the weirdness here, and he said since I'd lived through it I'd be a good resource for the next round of this place's victims."

"Potential victims," Xander corrected her.

Willow laughed at that, looking around at the construction. "So where's Spike?" she asked.

"Down in the basement," Buffy answered, hesitating. "Really close to the Hellmouth."

Willow swallowed, nodding. "Okay, well then let's make it a short trip," she requested, joining her friends as they entered the school building. Each of them felt ominous dread coil in their stomachs, instinctively afraid of the place.

"Sorry to pull you out of class," Buffy apologized. "I'm hoping you can tell if there's some kind of spell on him, making him act the way he is."

The witch shrugged. "No problem. Just, if we could finish up so I don't miss the appointment at the bakery," she requested.

"Do my best," Buffy promised.

Willow glanced sideways at her as the Slayer opened the door to a bathroom, a gaping hole in the floor. "I know you probably don't like this idea, but have you taken Dawn to see him?" she suggested, leaning over to look into the hole.

Buffy sighed heavily, taking the witch's arm in preparation of lowering her into the hole. Xander took her other arm, the pair bracing their feet on the edge of the broken linoleum. "You're right. I don't like that idea," she admitted, leaning over. "You ready?" she asked. "We'll let go on three." She counted them down, letting Willow drop the last few feet to the floor.

The witch glanced around the dark basement. "There weren't any stairs?" she asked up toward the hole, jumping back as Buffy dropped down easily. Xander took a few moments longer, sitting on the edge of the hole and then dropping down to join them.

"This is closer," Buffy answered, leading the way into the dark. A short walk and a few corners led them to Spike, the vampire curled in a corner behind some old file cabinets. His arms were wrapped around his knees, legs drawn into his chest, and he rocked, muttering to himself. He didn't look up as they appeared, and Willow crouched to look into his face.

"Spike? Can you hear me?" she asked, not reaching toward him. He didn't respond, just kept up his rocking and muttering, and she sighed. "So much for that," she commented. "I still think she's the best bet. You know how he is with her," she reminded her friend, looking over her shoulder at Buffy.

The vampire had had a truce with the Slayer and her group since they had spent four months in England during Willow's recovery. He'd lived with Dawn and kept the Hellmouth under control in the Slayer's absence. Since their return the previous spring, he'd been helping out but insisting on getting paid for his trouble in an attempt to distance himself from the Scoobies. The only exception was when it came to doing something for Dawn. He'd always been protective of the younger girl and, much to her sister's chagrin, Dawn looked up to the vampire and insisted that her elders play nice with him.

"Not yet," Buffy stated. "I don't want her down here."

The witch nodded, settling down onto her heels and smoothing her hands over her thighs. "Okay," she agreed. "Give me a few minutes." She let her eyes close, taking a deep breath and gathering her power gradually. She searched, but could find no traces of a spell affecting Spike. She opened her eyes with a sigh, shaking her head. "Whatever's wrong with him isn't a spell." She shuddered. "It's very likely this place. It's dark here. The air, the energy, everything down here is evil."

"High school is hell," Xander joked weakly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Buffy was frowning down at Willow. "Will, are you okay? Do you need to get out of here?"

The witch swallowed thickly, shaking her head. "I'm okay, but we need to get him out of here. He's not going to get any better staying down here."

Buffy crossed her own arms over her chest. "I can't even figure out why he _is _down here. He's been living in that crypt downtown for years now. He has cable in that freaking thing!"

"_We_ don't even have cable!" Xander complained. The girls sent him simultaneous looks and he lifted both hands in defense. "So, how do we get him out of here?"

"Well, it's only four o'clock. It won't be dark for another few hours," Buffy reminded him, squinting at her phone in the dark.

Willow jumped to her feet quickly, wiping her hands on her pants. "I've got to go. I'm supposed to be meeting Tara at the bakery at four-thirty." She looked around, taking a cautious step back as Spike growled in his throat, his expression shifting into game face. "Are you guys going to stay down here with him?" she asked, concerned. Buffy sighed heavily, nodding finally. "What about little sis? Is she staying here until you guys get Spike moved?"

The Slayer shrugged, dropping her head into one hand. "I didn't even think…could she go with you? Would you mind? I know you're doing wedding stuff…"

"Buffy, it's fine," Willow cut her off, smiling. "It's just cake tasting. And even if it wasn't, she wouldn't be in the way. Point me toward the stairs, and I'll pick Dawnie up from…" She paused as the mention of Dawn's name elicited a response from Spike, the vampire's head lifting. It was just bright enough in the passage to see that his game face smoothed out at the mention of the younger girl and Willow moved back as Buffy edged forward, putting herself between the witch and the vampire.

"Spike, can you hear me?" the Slayer questioned quietly. "It's us." He froze, blue eyes unseeing. "Maybe your idea was right, Will."

The witch sighed, nodding. "Want to bring her down here now?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I still don't want her on the Hellmouth all day. No closer than she has to be, at least." She glanced over her shoulder at the redhead. "Could you bring her by his crypt later? After you finish the wedding stuff for the day, of course."

"Yeah, no problem," she agreed. "Now, not to rush you or anything, but I really do have to get to the bakery…"

Xander laughed. "If you're okay Buff, I'll walk Willow out, show her where the new principal's office is."

Buffy nodded. "I'm fine, but I doubt Willow forgot where the library was."

"You put the principal's office over the Hellmouth?" Willow demanded incredulously, laughing at him.

He shrugged. "Can you blame me? How much easier would life have been if the first time the mouth of Hell opened, it had choked on Snyder?" he asked, chuckling.

The girls exchanged looks, both grinning. "Good point," Willow conceded. "But is this principal, you know, an evil toad?"

Buffy shrugged. "Not that we know of, but he did take a job here," she pointed out. "So better safe than sorry, I say."

Willow nodded. "Sounds good to me. Now, I _really _have to go." Xander pointed out the direction they needed to go, escorting her back toward the more populated areas of the school.

Willow felt unaccountably nervous as she knocked on the new principal's office, part of her goody-goody remnants from school. The door opened after a moment and a tall black man stared down at her. "Uh, hi. I'm here for Dawn Summers," she prompted when he didn't speak. Xander was standing behind her, and the men exchanged nods.

"I'm Robin Wood," he greeted her, holding one hand out to shake. "The new principal of Sunnydale High."

Willow shook his hand. "I'm Willow Rosenberg, former student of Sunnydale High."

"And how do you know Dawn?" he asked politely.

"We're friends," Willow answered. "We live together."

"Oh?" he asked, surprised. He was aware that Dawn was friends with Xander as well, but the contractor was married. He'd been an educator too long to not be suspicious of adults hanging around his students, no matter how friendly they appeared.

Willow seemed to recognize his suspicion and she lifted her left hand. "It's not like that. I'm engaged."

"Your fiancée doesn't mind you living with a teenager?"

"No, _she _doesn't. She lives with us too. And Buffy," Willow answered, wanting to address all of the concerns he might have. "Buffy's got an errand to run, so she asked me to take Dawn home with me." Dawn herself appeared from behind him, her schoolbag over her shoulder. "Hey, Dawn. How was school?"

The teen shrugged, glancing between the adults. "Hey, Will. It was fine, I guess. Until the weirdness."

Willow grinned, shaking her head. "That's how it always goes here."

"Is everything okay?" Dawn asked, looking up at her principal nervously.

Wood studied the three of them for a long moment, nodding and moving out of her way. "It's fine, Miss Summers."

Dawn edged around the tall man, joining Willow and Xander in the hall. "Where's Buffy?" she asked them, doing her best to ignore the principal.

"She's got some stuff to take care of here. You're coming with me, kiddo," Willow answered.

Dawn huffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm sixteen! You have to stop calling me that!"

Wood laughed, the deep echoes drawing their attention. "Known each other long?"

Dawn squared up to him, nodding. "Yes. Since I was nine. Buffy, Willow, and Xander have been best friends my whole life."

"Now, if you'll excuse us, I'm running late to meet my fiancée to taste wedding cake," Willow interjected, shaking his hand again. She glanced at Xander. "I'll see you guys later."

He nodded. "Okay. Don't forget, Tara promised to bring home cake!" he reminded her as the two girls went to leave. Willow gave him a thumbs-up over her shoulder, grinning sideways at Dawn as the teenager laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

A quick walk had them at the bakery on Main Street, the bell above the door jingling as they entered. Willow's eyes found Tara quickly, the blonde turning at the ringing. "So sorry we're late!" Willow apologized. "I brought a second opinion though."

"No problem," Tara replied, smiling happily. "Hey, Dawnie."

The pair joined the blonde at the counter, the couple exchanging a quick kiss as the woman behind the counter lined up several samples on top of the display case. Tara noticed that the knees of Willow's jeans were dirty but she didn't say anything, squeezing the redhead's hand as the baker explained the flavors of each sample cake.

They each tried all of the samples, picking their two favorites. Their choices were boxed up so they could try them again, get a second opinion and have time to make up their minds. Willow collected her schoolbag from Tara and insisted on carrying the cake boxes as well. The house was empty when they got home, and Willow put the cake safely in the refrigerator before joining Tara in the living room to fill her in on the afternoon's events.

The blonde witch listened quietly, looking up as Dawn joined them. "So he only responded to Dawn's name?" Tara asked, sighing when Willow nodded.

Dawn blinked, surprised. "Oh man! Buffy's never going to let me out of the house again!"

Willow laughed, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "Actually, she wants me to bring you by his crypt later. She and Xander are going to move him out of the school after dark. Buffy wants him off of the Hellmouth."

Tara frowned, eyes traveling between Willow and Dawn. "Honey, are you okay?" she asked, one hand resting on her fiancée's lower back, nails scratching gently.

Willow nodded, leaning further forward even as she scooted back so Tara could reach more of her back. The blonde took the hint, scratching her lover's back gently. "It was…intense down there," she confessed. "But I'm fine. Nothing to worry about, Tara." She moaned, smiling against her knees. "That feels good."

The blonde laughed, letting out a breath of relief. She trusted Willow completely, but she'd felt the evil of the Hellmouth the very first time she'd ever come to Sunnydale, could feel for herself how its radiating power affected everything in its reach. Climbing down to sit on the mouth of Hell couldn't be good for anyone. She even felt some sympathy for Spike.

"Are you going down there again?" she asked, using her nails more firmly against a spot she knew frequently bothered Willow.

"Nope," Willow said. "Not today, at least."

Tara didn't say anything else, still scratching Willow's back. Dawn got bored quickly, taking her homework to the dining room table. She was finished and in front of the television by dark, Willow taking her spot at the table to copy over the notes Tara had taken in their class. She looked up when the phone rang, but Tara got it.

She was on the phone for a few minutes, hanging up in the kitchen and dropping the phone back in its cradle. "They're at the crypt," she told Willow as she joined the redhead in the dining room, glancing into the living room where Dawn was stretched out on the couch. "I told them we'd be there in fifteen minutes."

"We?" Willow asked, looking up at her in surprise.

Tara nodded. "I want to help."

"It could be dangerous, sweetie," Willow said, frowning.

"If Buffy's letting Dawn come, she must not think it's too bad," Tara reasoned. "And I can take care of myself, Willow."

The redhead nodded quickly, blinking wide eyes. "Yeah, I know. I just… You know I'm a spaz, Tara. And I worry. I'm a worried spaz."

Tara gave her a look, letting out a deep breath. "I get that, sweetheart. And I know you just want to take care of me, but I want to take care of you too. We're partners."

The redhead smiled up at her, nodding again. "Yeah," she agreed. "Okay. You ready to go?" Tara nodded, glancing down as Willow took her hand. "Dawnie, you ready to go?"

The teen jumped up, collecting a stake and joining the witches at the door. Tara and Willow exchanged looks, shrugging it off. Buffy had been training her sister to defend herself, but they didn't want to be the ones to have to tell the Slayer that Dawn had faced down a vampire without the Slayer herself there to watch out for her sister, and they both resolved to get her to Spike's crypt without incident.

The door was open when they reached the crypt, Buffy and Xander lingering near the entrance while Spike paced in game face on the far side of the mausoleum. He looked over as Dawn entered, his face abruptly smoothing and his shoulders relaxing.

"Dawn," he said, voice tired. "Is she dead?" he asked. "Smells like she should be dead."

The others exchanged looks, Dawn moving toward him slowly. Buffy moved to intercept her, wanting her sister to keep her distance, but Spike growled as Buffy got between them, his game face back quickly.

"Dead things, always attack, attack, attack," he muttered, both hands coming up to his head, digging into his temples with the heels of his hands.

Dawn moved around Buffy slowly, showing her sister the stake as a reassurance. Spike saw the exchange but didn't seem to care that she was armed, just that she was away from Buffy. "What's wrong, Spike?" Dawn asked, keeping her distance cautiously.

"Dead things, all over you," he said, yellow eyes glaring across the tomb at Buffy before he sent the same glare down at himself.

Dawn looked over her shoulder at her sister, frowning in confusion. "Buffy's not dead, Spike," she promised softly, trying to calm him down.

He growled, shaking his head in confusion. "She smells dead," he stated simply.

Buffy scoffed, offended. "I do _not_!"

He just growled at her again, punching the wall in frustration. "Dead things should stay dead," he muttered, pointing at her and then pulling on his own bleached hair. "Shouldn't be here, shouldn't be warm, if he ever was, if she wasn't _haunting_ us! She should go back where she belongs, let him be dead again!" His voice got louder as he spoke and he was shouting by the end of it.

Dawn took another step toward him, ignoring Buffy's noise of protest. "Spike! Look at me!" she prompted, snapping her fingers to draw his eyes, yellow underneath his vampire brow. His face cleared after a moment and she smiled encouragingly. "That's right. It's me. Buffy's not dead, Spike. She's right there."

"She's _everywhere_. Won't leave me alone!" he protested. "I scream and I bite and I hit, but it doesn't hurt, and she doesn't leave!"

The others exchanged looks, Buffy shrugging in confusion. "I haven't gone near you, Spike. I didn't even know where you were until today."

"I could hit you before, after you were broken. I'm broken too, but now it's worse! Couldn't get broken worse! I thought so! But I was wrong!" he ranted, pacing again.

Willow frowned, crossing her arms. "What does he mean he could hit you before? Before the chip?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, not that. After I came…you know, back… He could hit me after that," she clarified, glancing guiltily at the redhead.

Willow sucked in a surprised breath. "How did he figure that out?"

"It was an accident," Buffy explained. "We had an argument, no surprise there, and he swung at me and it didn't hurt him."

"But he can't hit you anymore? Is the chip still working?"

The Slayer nodded grimly. "Yeah, as far as I know. He couldn't hit Xander." She laughed, glancing at him. "He tried to and it hurt him. It was just me. I don't know why he would think he couldn't still hit me. He hasn't seen me in days."

"She lies. Everything she says is ashy, dusty lies!" Spike claimed loudly. "Been trying to kill her all day! Need her bleeding racket to stop!"

"Spike, I didn't see you until this afternoon!" Buffy shouted back. Dawn sent her a glare as Spike growled again, tearing at his hair in frustration.

"I try and try to kill the Slayer! Third time's the charm, you know! Third one and I get a sodding ribbon! But fists won't hit her, teeth won't tear her. They just pass right through. Nothing left of her after what Hell took!"

Willow stepped forward slowly, staying level with Dawn. "Spike," she coaxed softly. "You can't hit Buffy anymore?" He shook his head, shoulders slumping as he glared morosely at the floor. Willow gave the others a look over her shoulder, nodding her head to the side. The other three shifted sideways, trying to obey. She gestured back the other way and they shuffled back, looking at each other as the redhead sighed in frustration. "Buffy," she hissed, holding her hand up to signal her to stay. She pointed the others, waving them to the side. They got it, Xander guiding Dawn and Tara back with him. Spike growled in his throat as Dawn moved away from him, but didn't shift to game face. Willow raised both hands cautiously, edging out from between Buffy and the vampire. "Try and hit her," she prompted.

"What?" Buffy demanded. "That was your…" Her breath huffed out as Spike hit her at a run. They smashed into the wall beside the door and she shoved him back. "Spike! It's me! I'm not dead!"

He scrambled backwards, stumbling and falling onto his butt. "Buffy?" he gasped. "You're not dead."

"That's what I said!" she replied, approaching him cautiously. She lifted one hand slowly, letting him meet her in the middle, his finger poking at her hand as if he expected his hand to go through hers. "Believe me now?"

Spike nodded, brushing his hair back into some semblance of his normal style. "Was any of it real?" he asked hoarsely.

"What did you see?" Dawn asked, joining her sister and pulling Spike to his feet, tucking herself uncaringly under his arm, supporting him into a seat on the tomb.

He gave her a grateful smile, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. "I saw the Master," he sighed, not looking up. "And that bitch goddess, Glory. Adam…" The final name was whispered, looking up at the Slayer. "Drusilla."

Buffy nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyone else?"

"Some smiling, laughing bloke," he said. "And you."

Willow stepped forward, frowning in thought. "Smiling, laughing guy? Was he middle-aged, hair kind of widow's peaky?"

Spike nodded wearily. "You know him?"

"Mayor Wilkins?" the redhead suggested, looking at Buffy and Xander for confirmation. "That's what they all have in common - dead and evil."

"Hey!" Buffy protested, offended.

"Not you," Willow clarified, rolling her eyes. "You aren't dead either, remember?"

"Yeah, but I _was_," Buffy said, looking to the witch for an explanation. "That's the link. We were all dead." She looked at Spike, the vampire watching his own hands fiddle with the straggling threads in a hole in his jeans. "Were they saying anything to you?"

He shrugged, not looking up. "Pseudo-prophetic ramblings, mostly."

"Any specifics?" Willow questioned.

Spike sighed, thinking. "Something about the beginning. We're going back to the beginning. The Master said it wasn't about right, or wrong…" He trailed off, looking up to meet Buffy's eyes. "You said it was about power."

The others joined him in looking at Buffy, but she just shrugged. "It wasn't actually me. It was…zombie me. Who apparently only Spike can see…" She groaned, rubbing at her temples. "I'm getting a headache." She looked at Spike again. "Are you feeling better?"

He nodded, glancing sideways at Dawn. "Yeah, thanks for pulling me out of there."

"Why the hell were you down there anyway?" Buffy demanded.

Spike shook his head. "I couldn't tell you, Slayer. It was…compelling. They were screaming at me. I just wanted them to be quiet."

"Are you still crazy?" she asked, seeming to be considering something.

He managed a weak smile, shaking his head. "Not that I know of."

The Slayer turned to look at Willow. "And you're sure there's no spell?" she checked again.

Willow shook her head. "No spell. It was the Hellmouth, and whatever those dead things are."

Buffy nodded, swallowing thickly. "Okay. Spike, get your stuff. You're coming home with us," she stated, answering his look of surprise with a firm look. "I need you away from the Hellmouth, somewhere I can keep an eye on you." He nodded, pushing himself up onto his feet. Buffy was quick to get in his face. "But if you even growl at any of them, or say one crazy thing, I'm staking you, got it?"

"Yeah, got it, Slayer," he answered, a tired smirk making its way to his lips. "Just give me a minute." She stepped back and he stumbled toward the hole that led into his bedroom.

No one spoke for a few moments, Xander clearing his throat to break the silence. "I know I play this card every time, but are you sure we can trust him?"

"I trust him," Dawn spoke up before the others could. "He wouldn't hurt me."

"But he's crazy now! He's been living down in that basement," Xander protested. "I'm not all mystical, or undead, or whatever, but I know that place is evil. It was giving Will the shivers and she was only down there for a few minutes!"

Willow's spine stiffened and she let out a deep breath. Honestly, she could feel the Hellmouth's radiating evil even from where they were standing, several miles from the school, but going to stand within a hundred yards of it had been a struggle she wasn't expecting when she'd woken up that morning.

"That's why he's coming back with us," Buffy reasoned. "He'll be away from it, and I'll be there to kill him if he goes crazy again." She looked at Willow in the dim light, but the witch wasn't speaking or meeting their eyes, and she wondered if asking Willow to climb down to the regional center of evil had been too much. Xander's mouth opened to protest again, and she cut him off. "I'll be there at night with him, and during the day the house will be empty. It's going to be fine, Xand," she stated, tone of voice ending the discussion.

He nodded reluctantly, crossing his arms over his chest sullenly. Spike was back up the ladder in a few minutes, having changed clothes into his customary black jeans and t-shirt with his red shirt unbuttoned over it. He had his long leather coat hooked on his finger and he dropped it around Dawn's shoulders with a small grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes, one hand on her hip. "That's your stuff?"

Spike looked down at himself, stomping one booted foot in satisfaction. "Yup."

"Fine," she agreed. "You know you're sleeping in the basement, right?"

"Figured," he replied. "I don't have to worry about being woken up on fire down there."

She was already walking out of the crypt, leading the way. "You _will_ wake up on fire if you even feel like you're going to go crazy."

Spike sighed, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly behind her. "I'll tell you if I see dead people," he agreed while Dawn laughed.

The moon was high in the sky outside, an owl audible in a nearby tree. Buffy stayed in the lead, Dawn and Spike in step behind her. Xander was following them, while Willow and Tara brought up the rear. Willow still hadn't spoken and Tara took her hand, playing with her engagement ring to draw the redhead's eyes.

"Hey, you," she whispered. "I'm marrying you."

Willow couldn't help smiling, squeezing her hand. "Thanks."

Tara nodded, hugging Willow's arm and leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "Hey, you asked," she responded easily, deliberately misunderstanding.

"No, not for that," Willow protested. "I mean, of course, yes for that too! More specifically, thank you for knowing exactly what to say to make me smile."

Tara nodded, giving her a smile of her own in the dimness. "Of course. If I say it again will it make you smile again?"

Willow nodded, still smiling. "That will never not make me smile."

"Good," Tara said quietly. "I live for that smile."

As soon as they were back inside Revello Drive Spike found a jar of blood in the fridge and helped himself to a few swallows before retreating to his basement bedroom without comment. Dawn was still wearing his leather jacket and she hung it up in the closet for him. The dinner Tara had left to cool was ready, and they took seats at the table to eat. Xander wanted to get home to Anya so he wasn't staying, but he took the pieces of wedding cake samples that Tara had thoughtfully cut for him.

Since she had already finished her homework, Buffy permitted Dawn to accompany her on patrol. She left Spike to sulk and be crazy in the basement, sure that he wouldn't cause any more trouble that night, and that Willow and Tara were capable of taking him out if they needed to.

Tara settled down on the couch with their highly organized, and thanks to Willow, color-coded wedding binder, looking over what was left to do before the event. It was a small ceremony, and a majority of their tasks were done, but Willow liked to go over it frequently and Tara liked to indulge her. Tonight though, Willow was fidgety, fingers playing restlessly with anything she touched.

Tara put the book down on the coffee table and it finally drew the redhead's attention. "I'm going to bed," Tara said quietly, giving Willow a soft smile.

Willow smiled back, her eyes tired. "Do you mind if I meet you up there in a little bit?" she asked. "I need to get some focus."

"Of course, sweetie," Tara agreed, leaning over to give her a kiss. "I'll wait up for you?" she suggested.

The redhead shook her head slowly. "You don't have to. Get some sleep. It's been a long day," she observed with a weak laugh.

"I'll wait," Tara promised softly, rising from the couch gracefully. "Need anything?"

"No, thanks," Willow responded. "I'll just get myself back in balance and I'll be right up, okay?"

"Take your time," Tara said, kissing the top of her head before moving toward the stairs. Willow watched her go, taking a deep breath. She'd been cautious about her magic since their return from England three months earlier, but spending time on the Hellmouth had left her feeling a sharp desire to meditate and regain her focus.

She looked around the dim living room for a moment before rising from the couch and moving into the kitchen. She could hear Spike moving around in the basement as she opened the door, but he didn't look over as she came down the stairs. "Hey," she greeted him softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I could use a kip," he confessed. "Hearing voices is tiring."

She laughed quietly. "Yeah, it is." She lapsed into silence, lingering awkwardly.

"What is it, pet?" he asked, giving her a look over his shoulder.

"Oh, um, I was just going to meditate…"

"And?" he asked when she didn't continue.

The witch shrugged, rubbing both hands over her jeans. "I just…it's rough down there, and I didn't know if maybe you would want to…"

"Meditate?" he asked with a laugh. "Me?" He turned to face her, customary smirk in place. "I might be one of the undead, but I'm not all mystical. I'll leave that to you and your bird."

She shrugged defensively, frowning. "I was just trying to help!" she muttered, dropping into a seated position on the floor and settling herself.

"Hey, now! I appreciate that you want to help, but why does your meditation thingy have to happen in _my _basement?" he asked, arms crossing over his chest.

"I need a stronger connection to the earth," she answered without looking at him.

"Ah, and my dank, underground hole works well for that," he agreed, looking around the basement. He was silent for a beat and she let her eyes close, beginning to expand her focus, her energy cautiously exploring. Her eyes slid open again slowly as she heard him sit down on the floor in front of her, his hands cupping his lighter as he lit a cigarette.

Their eyes met and he shrugged. "Like you said, it was rough down there," he commented, taking a drag and leaning back against the washing machine, closing his eyes. She let hers close again with a smile, restarting her careful meditation.

When she was finished, her energy once again stable and calm, she wasn't surprised to see that Spike had fallen asleep on the floor, the butt of his cigarette still between his lips. She took it from him gently, not eager to have the house burn down because he fell asleep smoking. She studied him for a second, not sure if she should wake him up, deciding quickly to help him to bed, prodding him onto his cot and covering him up with a blanket.

The lights were dim and Tara was under the covers but she moved as Willow entered their room, turning over to smile sleepily at her. Willow gave her a reassuring smile, quickly stripping off her shoes and jeans, leaving her in her t-shirt and underwear. Tara rolled over to face her, taking a deep breath as she stroked a hand down Willow's arm. "You smell like smoke," she said, voice low. Willow sat up quickly, stripping her shirt off before settling back down and guiding Tara's head to her shoulder. The blonde dropped a kiss to her skin, one hand stroking down her arm again.

"Spike was smoking while I was meditating," Willow explained. "I said you didn't need to wait up for me," she said softly, smiling down at Tara.

The blonde shrugged, blowing deliberately cool air over her fiancée's skin. "Well, I'd say it worked out better for me this way," she commented. "You took your clothes off and I got to watch." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Willow's cheek. "It's not even my birthday," she teased, settling her head against her fiancée's shoulder and letting her eyes close.

Willow snorted, leaning her head against Tara's hair. "You want me to strip for your birthday? That's going to make my present shopping much easier," she said contemplatively, laughing quietly.

Tara laughed, snuggling closer. "That sounds like the perfect present to me," she agreed, eyes still closed.

"Consider it done then!" Willow promised, kissing her on the cheek. "So I should cancel your party, and take back the very nice gift I got you?" she asked, whispering into her fiancée's ear.

Tara shook her head against Willow's shoulder. "If you want," she answered, voice sleepy and slow. "I've got everything I want right here," she said, squeezing Willow closer. "Don't need presents. Got you and I get to marry you." Her voice was growing quiet as she drifted closer to sleep, peaceful and content.

Willow let out a deep breath, her cheek against Tara's hair. "Can't argue with that logic," she declared happily, letting her own eyes drift closed.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was still down, the moon high and large when the peace of Revello Drive was broken by a scream. Willow and Tara each snapped up in their bed, rushing into the hall. Dawn appeared from her own room, looking at the witches in confusion. Spike dashed soundlessly up from the bottom of the stairs and their eyes turned simultaneously to Buffy's room.

Dawn was first through the door, seeing Buffy sitting up in her bed, sheets tangled around her legs while she gasped for breath. "Dawnie?" the Slayer asked, disoriented. "Will, Tara? Spike?" She yanked her sheets up to cover her shirt. "Out!" she demanded, pointing him back toward the door.

He threw both arms up in the air, grumbling. "Fine! Try to help you, make sure you're safe, and this is the thanks I get."

Buffy let out a deep breath, seeing that he didn't go far, just leaned against the doorframe of her room with his back to the others. "Good enough, I guess," she muttered.

"Buffy, what happened?" Willow asked, worried. "You screamed."

"Bad dream," the Slayer gasped. "There were these guys, in robes. They were chasing this girl." She looked up at her friends. "I think they killed her." Her eyes focused on Willow. "Does 'from beneath you, it devours' mean anything to you?" she asked, frowning.

The witch shook her head, confused. "No, should it?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so, but she said it, and I didn't know if it was, you know, something mystical people might know about that I'm clueless on," Buffy explained.

Willow glanced at Tara for confirmation, shrugging. "Nothing I've ever heard before. We could call Giles," she suggested, looking at the clock on Buffy's bedside table. "He's awake for sure."

"I can call him later," Buffy decided.

"The Hellmouth," Spike chimed in from the hallway, still not looking at the women. "It's beneath us, it devours." He shifted his weight, arms crossing over his chest.

The others exchanged looks, Buffy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "You know, he may be right," she admitted, smirking as he grumbled in the hall. "But I'll call Giles, just to ask," she added, taking a deep breath.

"And you can brag on your new job," Willow reminded her, trying to break the tense atmosphere that still lingered in the room.

Buffy groaned, flopping back in her bed. "Aww, man, it's my first day today, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Dawn said, glaring. "Unless you don't want to go. No one would blame you, Buffy," she encouraged her sister. "Do it! Quit!"

"She's not going to quit," Tara chided, nudging the younger girl with an elbow. "And she's not just doing it to torture you," she continued preemptively, giving Dawn a knowing look.

Dawn sighed, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. "Whatever," she said, shrugging. "Well, if nothing is going on, I'm going to get some more sleep before I have to get ready for school."

She left the room with a final huff of annoyance at her sister and Willow took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Was this the first time you've had a dream like that?" she asked. "I've never heard you scream like that."

Buffy shook her head, sitting up and leaning her elbows on her knees. "I've actually been having them every few days for weeks now. Every night a different girl. I just… this time I saw them kill her."

Willow and Tara exchanged looks, the blonde sliding one hand into the back of Willow's hair, squeezing her hand once before letting her fingers comb down the length of her hair. "I'll let you guys talk," she murmured, giving Buffy a nod before she left the room.

The old friends locked eyes and Willow curled her leg up underneath herself. "Is it always the same?" she asked.

"No," Buffy answered. "Always different girls, different cities, they get killed different ways." She took a deep breath. "But there's _something _they have in common! I just don't know what it is. But, Will, I know they're out there - more of them!" She let her breath out, shoulders slumping. "But they're going to die."

Willow sighed, frowning down at the Slayer's legs concealed beneath the sheets. "Have you told Giles about the dreams?"

"No, not really. I mean, I guess I was hoping they weren't real." She slumped further, leaning her head against her crossed arms. "I'm not so sure anymore. It felt real, Will." She lifted her eyes to meet Willow's without lifting her head. "I could feel it…" She didn't say anything else, the look in her eyes telling Willow exactly what her friend meant.

"Call Giles," the redhead prompted. "I don't know what else to tell you, but he'd want to hear about this. And he might have some ideas." She grimaced as sunlight started to glow outside of the window. "Good morning," she groaned, covering a yawn with one hand.

Buffy laughed wearily. "Sorry about the screaming wake-up," she apologized. "What time is it in England?"

Willow did the mental math quickly, laughing. "Noon."

"Perfect," Buffy groaned, one hand trying to locate her phone blindly on the nightstand.

"You're not going to try and sleep?" Willow asked, standing up as Buffy rolled to try and get a hand on her cell phone. "It's a big day, with the new job and all."

The Slayer sighed, shaking her head. "That's exactly why I don't think I'd be able to sleep." She'd been going to the school for the last two weeks as an observer, but today would be her first day interacting with the students.

Willow nodded, rubbing tiredly at her hair and dragging her hand down over her face. "Okay, well tell him we all say 'hey' and send love, all that good stuff," she requested, pointing back over her shoulder. "I'm going to try and catch a little bit more sleep."

"Cool," Buffy agreed, laying back down flat in her bed with the phone held above her face while she dialed.

Willow could hear Dawn tossing and turning in her own room, the teen's door closed behind her. Spike was gone as well, evidently retreating back to the basement before the sunlight filled the living room and left him trapped in the upstairs hallway.

The room to her bedroom was open and Willow was surprised to see that Tara was in the middle of getting dressed. "Aww," the redhead pouted. "No trying-to-go-back-to-bed snuggles?" she asked, sliding up behind her and curling her arms around her fiancée's waist.

"Breakfast," Tara answered.

"Come on," Willow protested. "It's not even six!"

Tara leaned back into her, hands resting on Willow's at her waist. "I have some things I wanted to do today. And we're already awake."

"Oh, well those kind of things don't require you getting dressed," Willow reminded her.

Tara laughed, swatting at Willow's arms. "Not those things," she corrected her. "Just a few errands to run."

"Errands? What errands?" the redhead questioned in confusion.

"I'm not telling you," Tara said teasingly, her hands moving back and forth lightly over Willow's arms. Willow's jaw dropped, the witch immediately pouting again. "It's a secret."

"Secret? We're getting married! No secrets!"

Tara turned her head to press a kiss to her cheek. "It's nothing bad, sweetheart. You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do, but I don't like the sound of these secret errands," Willow protested, nudging her head against Tara's.

The blonde giggled, positioning her lips against Willow's ear. "Do you like the sound of our honeymoon?" she asked, voice low.

Willow shivered, swallowing with a suddenly dry throat. "Yeah, definitely like the sound of that," she agreed breathily.

"Well, then let me have my errands, okay?" Tara requested. "And think of it as a surprise more than a secret."

Willow nodded, feeling Tara's breath against her neck. "On second thought, I'm liking the sound of these errands more and more."

"I thought I might be able to bring you around," Tara teased, pressing a kiss to Willow's temple.

The redhead laughed, squeezing her gently. "You always do, hon," she agreed, reluctantly letting her hands slide off of Tara's waist. "You're so lucky you don't have classes today."

"You set up your own schedule, sweetheart," Tara reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah," Willow groused, swatting lightly at her lover's butt while Tara resumed getting dressed, her fingers buttoning the front of her blouse. "Boo," the redhead jeered softly as Tara's skin was covered, collecting a towel for herself. "There's no point in going back to bed by myself, so I might as well take a shower, alone…" she complained, winking over her shoulder at Tara.

"Whine, whine, whine, my love," Tara sent back, not taking the bait.

"I hope I can at least get lucky on this honeymoon of ours!" Willow responded loudly, grinning.

"I'd say that's a fair bet," Tara agreed with a laugh. "And tonight seems like it could be a possibility," she teased.

"I'll hold you to that," Willow promised. "And that," she added, pointing to their bed.

Tara arched an eyebrow at her, grinning. "Buffy's dream wasn't anything end-of-the-world-y, was it?" she asked, just to check.

"Not yet," Willow answered, shrugging. "She's calling Giles to get a second opinion, but so far there's nothing to interrupt any plans we want to make for tonight."

"Good," Tara agreed. "Want to go out?" She heard the water come on in the shower behind her and she straightened up her perfume bottle on the dresser after she dabbed some on each wrist and behind her ear where she knew it drove Willow crazy. "We could make a date of it."

"Yeah," Willow called over the water, grinning through the doorway at her. "That will be fun! I had a few last minute wedding things I wanted to go over with you."

"Over a month before isn't 'last minute,' baby," Tara responded, laughing. "Well, to anyone but you, at least."

Willow stuck her tongue out at her before ducking back into the bathroom, steam starting to cloud out through the open doorway. Tara left her girlfriend to her shower, going downstairs to get breakfast together for the rest of the household.

Xander picked up Dawn and Buffy for school on the Hellmouth while Willow went to her classes at the college, leaving Tara to run her errands. Buffy was the first one home, the Slayer obviously anxious, pacing the living room as soon as she came through the door. Tara looked up from the wedding book that had become a permanent fixture on the coffee table, trying to anticipate what Willow would be needlessly stressing herself out about.

"Is everything okay, Buffy?" the witch asked, putting the big binder back on the table.

The Slayer shook her head, still pacing. "Yes, no, I don't know." She laughed bitterly. "Less than helpful, I know," she commented. "I talked to this girl today who said she was going to die on Friday. I'm not really sure what to do about it. I mean, I told the principal, but he isn't going to do anything…"

Tara sat up straighter, her hands sliding over her thighs. "Sometimes kids say things, Buffy. High school is rough on everyone…"

"But it's high school on the Hellmouth! That place does stuff to people. Like, when we were there, there was this girl who was all lonely, and she turned _invisible_! And she was kidnapping people and trying to cut us, and that school did it to her. I don't want it to do anything to this girl."

Tara nodded, swallowing. "Sure, yeah. Well, we won't let it," she assured her friend. "What do we know about this girl?"

Buffy shrugged, running both hands through her hair. Dawn came in just then, scowling at her sister. "Dawn, what do you know about Cassie?" she asked immediately.

"Jeez, you followed me all day at school! Can't I get two seconds without you in my face?" Dawn shot back, dropping her book bag and storming upstairs.

Willow entered through the still open front door, looking up the stairs as they all heard a door slam. "I guess school didn't go great?" the redhead offered, eyes traveling between the blondes.

"Spectacularly," Buffy objected sarcastically. "Some kid told me she's going to die on Friday, but she insists she's not going to kill herself. She said she saw it… She said I was there, and we were in the dark, and there were coins, and then she was dead!"

Willow blinked at the outpouring, nodding. "Okay, well we'll figure it out. Maybe she's just being dramatic."

"I don't think that's what this is. She was specific. And it's like she didn't even care!"

Willow held up both hands in surrender. "Okay, well give me a second to boot up and we'll find out if there's anything about her online."

Buffy nodded, pacing again. "Thanks Will."

"Yeah, no problem," the witch responded, carrying her bag to the dining room table and starting up her computer. She took a seat at the table, Buffy and Tara flanking her on either side to read over her shoulder. Tara let one hand rest on the back of Willow's neck, fingers playing idly with her girlfriend's hair. "What's her last name?" the redhead requested, fingers poised over the keys.

"Um…" Buffy hesitated, trying to remember. Dawn stomped back down the stairs and the Slayer called a question over her shoulder, "Dawn, what's that Cassie girl's last name?"

"Newton," Dawn answered shortly. "I'm going downstairs to hang out with Spike."

"Cassie Newton," Willow recited, typing it diligently into the computer.

Buffy was scowling, leaning backward to watch Dawn take the stairs down into the basement. "What do you think she's doing down there with him?" she wondered out loud.

"Buffy," Willow chided. "Don't push her. She didn't seem too happy with you already. Don't make it worse." She clicked on something even as the front door of the house opened, Xander and Anya letting themselves in.

"We're here to mooch dinner," he announced, lifting one hand to wave as the women greeted them both.

Tara laughed, still playing with Willow's hair. "I haven't actually started dinner yet, but we've got some Scooby-age to work on until it's ready."

"On your first day?" Xander asked, leaning over Buffy to read over Willow's shoulder. "Whoa. Kids are dark these days," he commented, reading the webpage the redhead had pulled up.

"That's just how teenage girls are, Xand. Everything is life and death, and super dramatic and just must be expressed in the form of bad poetry." She smirked at him over her shoulder. "I can't say there's not one or two bad love poems I wrote out there."

The others laughed, looking at Tara in surprise. "Don't look at me," the blonde objected. "She's never written me any poetry."

"Then who was it about?" Xander asked. "Oz?"

Willow shook her head, sighing without moving her eyes from the computer screen. "No, dummy, it was about you, and no, you cannot read them. You missed your chance with this hot mama-yamma."

"He's married, Willow!" Anya protested, curling both arms around her husband's chest. "You can't have him!"

"I don't want him, Anya," Willow agreed. "I'm engaged to Tara, remember? She's the only one I want." She glanced up from the computer to give the former demon a reassuring smile. "I promise."

Anya seemed to consider this, nodding finally. "Okay, but I'll be very relieved when you two are married."

"Oh, me too," Willow agreed, leaning back to smile at Tara. "And trust me, it's better that I never wrote you any poetry. You probably wouldn't be marrying me now if you'd ever read any of my attempts at poetry."

"I don't know about that," Tara protested. "I'm sure it was good, baby."

The redhead snorted, shaking her head. "No, it really wasn't. I'm relieved that no one's ever found it or I'd have to kill them and myself out of embarrassment."

"You know it's now my life's mission to find these poems," Xander stated. Willow sent him a glare over her shoulder and he cleared his throat. "What's the story on this girl?"

"She came into my office today and said she was going to die next Friday," Buffy explained, still reading the site. "This is a lot of poems."

"Teens are dramatic," Willow agreed. "And speaking of dramatic teens, maybe you should give Dawn something to do, you know, get her to help us out. She could talk to Cassie, spend some time with her at school."

The Slayer stood up straight, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, maybe she'll forgive me for working at her school if she's involved with the Scooby stuff." She squeezed Willow's shoulder. "You keep working on that, I'm going to go talk to her."

The witch gave her a noise of acknowledgement and the Slayer backed out of the group surrounding the computer, moving into the kitchen. She opened the door to the basement, taking two steps before she realized that she was definitely hearing the sound of heavy breathing.

"Oh, hell no!" she gasped, a single jump taking her all the way to the bottom of the steps. "Spike!" There was a crash behind her and she turned to see that Dawn was sprawled on a training mat on the floor, breathing hard and sweating. Spike was on the far side of the room, sweating himself.

"Buffy," he greeted her dryly. "Little sis's got some real talent."

"You're dead!" Buffy growled, lifting him off his feet by his throat.

"Buffy! What are you doing to him?" Dawn demanded, rushing to her sister's side and trying to pull her back.

"What was _he_ doing to you?" Buffy demanded.

Dawn blinked in confusion. "We were sparring! He's been training me. He threw me because _someone_ made me lose my concentration!"

"Training you? That's what I've been doing…" Buffy said, confused.

"Me first," Spike chimed in, smirking.

"We've been working out since you guys were all in England. You weren't here, Buffy. Spike knew I wasn't a little kid anymore and he agreed to help me. We just didn't tell you because we knew you wouldn't like it," Dawn explained, slapping the Slayer's arms. "Now, put him down!"

Buffy didn't comply, still holding him up. "Exactly how old do you think she is?" she asked, glaring up at the vampire. They'd had exactly one physical encounter before she'd left with Willow and the others for England but neither one had ever mentioned it and she knew that he knew without asking that if he ever brought it up she'd stake him without a regret. And if he came up with the wrong answer for her questions now it would be an even swifter death.

"Buffy!" Dawn squealed shrilly. "Eww! It's not like that!"

"Spike?" Buffy asked, ignoring her sister and keeping her eyes locked on Spike's.

"It's okay, little bit," he said calmly, hands trying to reach his pocket. "She's sixteen," he stated. "And I know it. And just so you know, 'little bit' is a pseudonym for a little sister type figure." Buffy didn't speak, letting out a deep breath and lowering Spike back to his feet. "Thanks," he said, finding his cigarettes in the pockets of his jeans and pulling one out, looking down at its crooked tip with a sigh. "You alright, kiddo?" he asked Dawn. "That was a bad fall."

Dawn nodded, rubbing at her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine," she agreed.

"How come he can call you 'kiddo' without getting his head bit off?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because he treats me like an adult!" Dawn shot back.

Buffy shifted her feet uncomfortably as Spike looked on, smug expression on his face. "Okay," she agreed slowly. "You're right. I'll do better, Dawn."

"I'll believe it when I see it," her sister protested, catching the towel Spike tossed to her and wiping sweat from her face.

"That's fair," Buffy acceded. "I could use your help with something. That girl at school, Cassie, any chance you could talk to her, figure out what her deal is?"

Dawn looked doubtful, but nodded. "Sure," she agreed, taking the bottle of water Spike handed her. "Thanks," she told him politely, grinning as he winked at her.

Buffy stood in awkward silence, shifting her feet. "Okay, thanks," she said, feeling the tension between herself and her sister still lingering. "You guys have fun, I guess." She retreated without speaking again, closing the basement door behind her when she reached the kitchen. She dropped into a chair at the table, letting her head lean against the tabletop, banging it repeatedly.

"How'd it go?" Willow asked sympathetically, giving her a friend a smile around the computer.

"Tara, you had a brother. How did you not kill each other when you were sixteen?" Buffy asked, not lifting her head.

The blonde witch blinked, unconsciously withdrawing to cross both arms over her stomach. "Um, well, I actually think he _might_ have been trying to kill me when we were sixteen."

Buffy's head lifted in a hurry and she grimaced. "Sorry, Tara! I kind of forgot. I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay," Tara protested quickly. "No big deal, Buffy." She gave the Slayer a reassuring smile, looking down at Willow as the redhead gave her a quick look over her shoulder. "Donny isn't quite Dawn. She's just trying to figure out who she is. Cut her some slack."

Buffy nodded, groaning. "I'm going to give her some space," she agreed. "I just accused her and Spike of having sex," she confessed with a grimace, letting her head drop back to the table with a thud to hide her own face.

"What?" Xander bellowed, rising uncontrollably to his feet.

"They're not!" Buffy called him back quickly. "It was a misunderstanding." She quickly explained what had happened in the basement, blushing in embarrassment as she finished her story. "And so ends the tales of 'how Buffy screws up again - the Dawn edition.'"

"Very amusing," Anya agreed. "I don't get why Dawn does not want to have sex with Spike though. He's quite good looking. If I didn't have Xander's penis for myself, I would be interested to see how Spike does with his."

"What?" Xander bellowed again. "Anya!"

She just looked at him blankly. "I'm sure he could not give me as many orgasms as you do," she said in what was supposed to be reassurance.

The others exchanged looks as the couple started bickering loudly. Willow picked up her laptop without a word, leading the blondes into the kitchen while Buffy hit the stopper at the bottom of the swinging door that would separate the kitchen from the dining room and hopefully cut off some of the noise.

Tara started working on dinner and Willow and Buffy kept scouring the internet for clues. Willow suggested Buffy pick up Cassie's file from the school to give them more leads to go on. They called Dawn up for dinner, the teen pointedly ignoring her sister the whole time before retreating back downstairs to practice the card tricks that Spike had been teaching her.

Despite their best efforts, it was Friday before they knew it. Buffy was anxious to keep anything from getting to Cassie, so Willow agreed to joining her at the school to keep an eye on her. Dawn had done her part buddying up to the other girl, but couldn't find anything.

Dawn was distracted after school and lost track of Cassie, but Buffy sent her sister home with Xander while she and Willow stayed on campus and searched. Buffy kept searching the basement, convinced the Hellmouth would play a role in anything that happened to Cassie. Willow kept herself further away from the basement, searching the other three floors from the top down. Most of the classrooms were dark and locked, but the sun was still going down by the time she returned to the ground floor. She realized that she had naturally turned to go toward the library, which was now the principal's office and remained the surface portal to the Hellmouth. With a shuddering breath she turned her back on it, deliberately walking the other way.

Buffy was coming out of the basement when Willow passed the door to the stairs, the Slayer shaking her head with a sigh. They both looked over when the lights in the library flickered, exchanging looks. The outer doors were locked but the flicker of fire was more visible, shadows moving around the room. Buffy put her shoulder into the door at a run and it shook but didn't open. The second hit knocked it open, a crossbow bolt flying in the same second and narrowly missing Willow's face.

"You okay?" Buffy gasped, rolling to her feet.

Willow rubbed a hand at her cheek where the tail had burned past her ear. "I'm okay. It missed."

The Slayer nodded, staying low as they heard the people reacting to the crash of their intrusion. "I'll fight whatever is up there, you get the girl," she said, getting the witch's nod before she lunged into the middle of the circle of robed young men. "I'm here to tell you," she stated as she kicked the first one who jumped at her. "These's human sacrificing-demon raising ritual things, they never end well when I'm around."

Another boy jumped on her back and she flipped him into a bookcase. A kick sent another boy flying and Willow bolted past her to where Cassie was tied up in the middle of the emblem the guys had painted. The witch got the ropes off of her wrists and started back toward the door with her just as the demon the boys had summoned appeared. Willow quickly jerked Cassie behind a low bookcase as Buffy backpedaled from slashing claws.

"I need a weapon here!" the Slayer called, looking for anything in the debris that she could use. "Or some help!"

Willow checked her surroundings, not seeing a weapon anywhere near her. "Stay down," she told Cassie sternly, pushing the younger girl's head down. One Latin word had a ball of fire balanced on her palm and she slung it at the demon's back. The fire spread quickly across his back quickly and Willow ducked.

"Thank you!" Buffy called, jumping back into the fray. "Now get her out of here!"

Willow obeyed immediately, guiding the teen toward the door with her. Cassie was leaning heavily on Willow's arm, her free hand on her chest. The witch turned away for a second to check on Buffy, Cassie pulling her the other way suddenly. "Buffy!" Willow called, struggling to catch her. "I need help out here!"

The Slayer was there a second later, but Cassie was dead before they got her lowered to the floor. The old friends' eyes met over the girl's body, both stunned and silent. Buffy double checked Cassie's pulse while Willow scrambled to dial an ambulance. They were still sitting in the hallway floor when the EMTs showed up. They explained what had happened and were allowed to leave. The medic told them that it appeared that the girl's heart had given out.

Buffy and Willow were silent as they walked home, the Slayer opening the door to let them in. Dawn and Tara were on the sofa and Spike was lounging on the floor, his head propped against the base of the couch. "How'd it go?" Dawn asked, sitting up.

Buffy didn't speak and Willow just shook her head. Tara was off the couch in a second, crossing the room to wrap Willow up in a comforting embrace. Buffy blinked in surprise as she was folded into a hug by Dawn a moment later.

"You tried, Buffy," her sister breathed. "You couldn't have done anything."

Buffy's voice was hoarse as she spoke. "You don't even know what happened."

"But I know _you_, Buffy," Dawn protested. "If there was anything you could have done, you'd have done it. You've been trying to figure out a way to save her all week."

The Slayer sighed, leaning her head against her sister's shoulder. "What kind of demon was it, Slayer? I'll help you take it down," Spike offered, sitting up.

"I got the demon, but thank you, Spike," Buffy said, giving him a bitter smile.

"Then what happened?" he asked, frowning.

"Her heart gave out," Willow chimed in, her face buried in Tara's neck. "There was nothing we could do."

Tara breathed deeply, leaning her head against Willow's. "I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Buffy curled her arm around Dawn's shoulder, guiding her sister back to the couch. Willow and Tara went to an armchair rather than the couch, the redhead curling herself into her fiancée's lap, taking comfort from her presence, the steady beat of Tara's heart against her back.

They didn't speak, just sat in silence, Buffy silently worried about her new job, the mysterious dreams she was still having, and their apparently imminent being swallowed into the Hellmouth. Spike hadn't had any more crazy episodes, but she wasn't sure he'd tell her even if he had. After tonight though, she had some hope that Dawn might tell her if the vampire confided in her.

It was dark before anyone spoke again, Buffy rising from the couch to patrol. Spike and Dawn followed her into the darkness, leaving Willow and Tara alone in the dim living room. The blonde was the first to break the quiet, whispering into Willow's ear. "I'm sorry about what happened today. What can I do?"

"Don't ever die," Willow answered promptly. "I don't know what I'd do if…"

Tara shook her head, her own fingers finding the still fading scar on the side of Willow's neck where she'd been grazed by a bullet earlier that year. "You know I can't promise you that, sweetheart. But you know I absolutely would if I could."

"I know that," Willow agreed reluctantly. "Your heart's okay, isn't it? Nothing to worry about, right?"

Tara smiled against her hair. "Nothing to worry about," she agreed. "And if there ever is anything to worry about I'll tell you." She squeezed Willow closer, letting her eyes close. "You'll be in the doctor's office with me, holding my hand if anything ever happens." Willow stiffened and Tara shook her head preemptively. "Not that anything is going happen."

"Not if there's anything I can do to stop it," Willow promised seriously. She shuddered, arms curling over Tara's arms around her waist. "Can we talk about something else? I don't like thinking about this."

"I'm not going anywhere," Tara promised. "And we're getting married in five weeks." She pressed a kiss to Willow's cheek. "Can we go to bed?"

"Of course," Willow agreed, keeping Tara's arms around her waist as she stood up, pulling the blonde behind her, short, shuffling steps carrying them toward the stairs slowly. "Five weeks, really?"

"Really," the blonde agreed with a low laugh. "I love you."

"I love you too," Willow responded, leaning back against her. "I can't wait to marry you, Tara."

The blonde laughed, spinning Willow out as they reached their room. The redhead stumbled, tripping over a stray pair of shoes and crashing into the bed with a laugh. Tara kicked off her own shoes and jumped onto the bed beside her, landing on her stomach as Willow rolled onto her back. "You okay?" Tara checked. "No sprained ankles, or anything, right? Don't want you limping down the aisle."

"I'm good," Willow answered. "Thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything, sweetheart," Tara said, one finger reaching over to brush red hair back.

"Yes, you did. Tara, I saw a girl die today. A girl Buffy spent all week trying to figure out how to save. And you, you're everything good in my life." She leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. "And you have this uncanny ability to make me feel good. Even today."

Tara smiled, hand resting lightly on Willow's collarbone. "Well, I'm glad I do." The redhead yawned helplessly, covering her mouth belatedly. "Let's get you ready for bed," Tara prompted, but stopped Willow as the younger girl started to sit up. "You just stay here, okay? I'll call you when your bath is ready."

Willow blinked, nodding wordlessly. Tara slipped off the bed and walked gracefully into the bathroom to start water running. "Hey," Willow called after her.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Tara called back.

"Rather than me taking a bath by myself, can you make it a shower and you stay to wash my back for me?" Willow proposed.

There was a pause and Willow heard the water switch from the bottom faucet to the shower. She pushed herself up only to be greeted by Tara's helpful hands. "That sounds like a deal," the blonde agreed, taking Willow's arm to lead her into the bathroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next month tensions between Buffy and Dawn eased as the younger girl got used to her sister being around the school, Buffy learning an appropriate distance to keep from the teen when they were in public. Buffy offered to come to the gym and support her sister when Dawn suddenly declared that she was going to try out for the cheerleading squad, but Dawn insisted that she didn't need that much family backup.

However, when she rushed home from the tryouts crying about some boy, Buffy followed her up the stairs without bothering to ask if she wanted support from her sister. Dawn slammed the bathroom door in her sister's face, ignoring Buffy's questions. The adults had been having a movie night, but the teen's arrival interrupted. Tara was in the kitchen getting popcorn, but Xander, Anya, and Willow were left in the living room, looking up in surprise from their movie as Spike stalked in after Dawn, dragging a tall teen boy with him by the back of his letterman jacket.

"Where's Buffy?" the vampire asked, growling in his chest unconsciously.

Xander got to his feet, followed quickly by Willow and Anya. "What's going on, Spike?"

"This guy's name is Spike?" the boy asked, giving the vampire a surprised look.

"Yes," Spike growled. "It is. What's your name, you little…"

"RJ," the young man answered quickly, holding both hands up. "Why am I here?"

"Why _is_ he here?" Xander asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Spike shrugged. "He made the little bit cry," he answered.

"Okay, that's awful, but you're technically kidnapping him," Xander clarified, grabbing RJ's other shoulder and guiding him back out the front door. "Leave Dawn alone," he instructed. "If you don't want to see him again, just do it," he continued when the boy started to protest, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Willow and Anya were both craning to look out the windows on the door when he turned back and he shot a look at them as both women shoved past him to watch RJ's confused retreat down the driveway.

"What was that about?" Tara asked as she entered from the kitchen, a bowl of popcorn in her hands.

"Xander sent him away!" Anya protested, one hand on Willow's shoulder to push herself up and get a better view out the window.

Tara frowned, eating a piece of popcorn. "Who'd he send away?"

"RJ," Willow answered, still looking outside. "I love him and he sent him away."

Tara choked on her popcorn, hitting her chest with one hand. "What?" she demanded in complete surprise. "Willow!"

"You love him?" Anya protested before Tara could continue. "_I _love him!"

"What?" Xander yelped. "Okay, something…" His words were interrupted as Willow and Anya lunged at each other, scratching and pulling hair. Xander and Tara quickly pulled their women apart, struggling to avoid getting hit themselves as the pair continued to try and get to each other. Spike watched, suddenly amused, and leaned back against the door. "Come on!" Xander groaned as he was hit solidly by an elbow. "Little help, Spike?" he requested.

The vampire shrugged, laughing. "This is funny. Both of your birds are after that bloke."

"Spike!" Tara growled and he relented, putting his shoulder in Willow's middle and lifting her off her feet. Tara let out a deep breath, pushing hair back from her face. "Okay, so, obviously there's something going on."

"No, there's not!" Willow protested. "Spike, put me down!" He started to obey until Tara shook her head, pointing at him sternly.

Tara moved around Spike to look Willow in the eyes. "Honey, until he came in you were into girls, remember?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't really matter. His soul is what speaks to me," Willow said.

The blonde groaned, rolling her eyes. "Oh, brother. Will you and Anya just calm down? We'll put you down if you guys will agree to stop fighting."

The redheaded witch and former demon glowered at each other, but nodded reluctantly. Spike waited for a sign from Tara before he put Willow down. Buffy and Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs just then, drawn by the commotion. "What's wrong?" the Slayer asked, seeing the two girls glaring at each other while Tara and Xander kept themselves cautiously between them.

"Anya and Willow are under some kind of love spell," Tara answered, putting up a hand to stop Willow's protests, not wanting to hear her fiancée gush about her love for someone else.

"Oh," Buffy said, trying in vain to keep back a laugh. Tara shot her a look and the Slayer covered her mouth to stop the laugh. "Tara, no, I mean, you have to admit, it is kind of funny." Tara's expression didn't change and Buffy quickly tried to force her expression into seriousness. "Okay, I guess from your perspective I can see how it's not so much funny."

Dawn was still wiping tears from her face, but she moved to hug Tara. "Willow loves you. She's just not herself."

"I know," Tara agreed. "This isn't something I expected to be dealing with two weeks before our wedding, though."

The teen sniffled, nodding. "We'll figure it out. Who was the guy?" She frowned. "Or was it a guy?"

"It was a guy," Tara stated. "I don't know who though. I was in the kitchen."

"He said his name was RJ," Spike answered. "Didn't get a last name."

Dawn whimpered, tearing herself away from Tara and bolting back up the stairs. Buffy groaned, dropping her head into one hand. "Okay, I think that explains _that_," she said. "She's been crying about that RJ guy."

"So she's under the spell too?" Xander asked, confused. "I say we get this guy."

"Agreed," Spike growled, standing up straight and cracking the knuckles on both hands.

Buffy quickly shook her head as both Willow and Anya immediately protested. "Stand down, guys. I'll go up and talk to Dawn, but we need to figure out how he's doing this to them." She turned quickly and went back upstairs after her sister.

Willow and Anya were still glaring at each other and Tara gave a sigh of frustration as she guided Willow firmly into a seat at the table. "Anya, living room," she ordered, pointing as she paced in the front room. "Okay, so I'm not under the spell, and neither is Buffy, but neither of us saw RJ. Dawn, Willow, and Anya are, but they all saw him. So it's probably something he has on him, or personal contact," she mused, mostly to herself as she tried to figure it out.

"Will and Anya didn't touch him," Xander pointed out. "Spike and I did, though! We're not…! Are we?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not!" Spike stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shut up, both of you!" Tara snapped, her hands wiping on the sides of her skirt as she continued to pace. "Willow, you wouldn't mind looking RJ up in the school records, would you?"

The redhead nodded eagerly, pulling up his school files in a startlingly short amount of time. "Are there any pictures?" Anya called from the couch, slumping when Tara gave her a glare over her shoulder.

"No," Willow said, pouting. "Just his name, address, transcripts, and medical history."

"Okay, _so _sorry there's not pictures, sweetie," Tara sympathized sarcastically, leaning over Willow's shoulder to read the screen. "Xander, Spike, you guys go check this guy out," she directed, scribbling the address onto a scrap of paper.

"Are you sure you can handle these two?" Xander asked, taking the paper from her.

Tara gave each of the two love struck women piercing glares. "Yeah, I'll keep them under control," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as they both curled back in their seats. Tara sighed, giving Xander a nod. "Just go, figure out what's going on so we can get our girls back."

He nodded emphatically. "Definitely," he agreed, squeezing her shoulder. "Come on, Spike," he directed, dragging the vampire out the door with him. "Good luck, Tara," he called over his shoulder.

The blonde dropped into a seat at the table, her head in her hand. She looked up as Willow's hand touched her arm. "What is it?" she sighed.

"Tara, I know this is hard for you, but I want you to know that I'll always be your friend," Willow started earnestly.

"Stop," Tara said flatly. "I know this isn't you, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to the 'we'll always be friends' speech from you." Willow's mouth opened to speak again, and Tara put a hand over her mouth. "I'm serious, sweetheart. Don't say it." She let her hand drop, her head dropping to the dining room table.

Willow didn't speak again, leaning back in her seat, her eyes lingering on Tara for a long moment. She looked over as Buffy came to the bottom of the stairs, the Slayer looking to where each of the love spell victims were in their separated seats sulking. She saw Tara at the table and moved to stand beside her friend. "You know it's not her," she reminded the witch softly. "Don't be too hard on her."

Tara gave her a weak smile, nodding. "How's Dawn?" she asked quietly, seeing Willow studying the pattern of the wood on the table.

"Still crying," Buffy answered with a sigh. "Where are the guys?"

"Hopefully solving this. They're checking out that RJ guy's house."

Buffy squeezed the witch's shoulder gently. "I'll make us some coffee," she offered. "Will, Anya, you want some?" she checked.

They both gave her affirmatives and the Slayer went into the kitchen to start the coffeepot. Tara dropped her head back onto her crossed arms, feeling Willow's eyes burning into the back of her head. She looked up again as the coffee cup landed in front of her, Buffy taking the chair beside her. They all lingered in silence, both Anya and Willow scared to speak up and risk Tara's annoyance.

Spike and Xander reappeared after about an hour, carrying RJ's letterman jacket. "This is it!" Xander announced. "This is how he put the whammy on them!"

"How'd you get this?" Buffy asked, inspecting it with Tara, both careful not to touch it.

Xander laughed, rubbing the back of his head guiltily. "Um, we kind of ripped it off him at a run," he confessed. "This is definitely how he was doing it! His brother got the jacket from their dad, and their jock powers to get girls have been seeping into this thing since the seventies."

"You're sure this is it?" Buffy checked, taking the jacket from him and carrying it to the fireplace. He nodded and she dropped it onto the grate. "Spike, lighter," she ordered, holding her hand back for it. The wool sleeves went up quickly and everyone turned to look at Willow and Anya, waiting for any reaction.

Willow's eyes widened as the flames spread up to burn the large felt letter, the redhead sucking in a deep breath as the spell broke. "Oh my God! Tara, honey, I'm so sorry! I love you! I love you so much." She got up from the table, crossing the room in a few quick paces, but hesitated before touching Tara. "I'm so, so, so, _so_ sorry," she reiterated, hands wringing in front of herself. "Honey, baby, sweetheart…"

Tara looked up from the burning jacket, biting her lip. "Willow…"

"I love you, only you. It was a spell, honey. Please still marry me," Willow pleaded, squeezing her eyes closed. She relaxed as Tara's arms folded around her, burying her face in the blonde's shoulder and curling her arms up Tara's back. "Thank God," she breathed. "Tara, I love you."

"I know that, Willow," Tara reassured her softly. She leaned her head against Willow's, watching Xander check on Anya over the redhead's shoulder. "Of course I'm still going to marry you," she promised. "You're not getting rid of me that easy."

Willow shook her head emphatically. "I don't want to! I would never want to lose you!"

"We're going home to have make up sex!" Anya announced loudly, ignoring the reactions from the others. Xander shrugged helplessly as he was compelled through the front door, his wife dragging him by one hand.

"Um, okay," Buffy agreed slowly as the door slammed behind them. "I think I'm going to go check on Dawn. I hate that it happened to you guys too, but I have a feeling her feelings might not have been entirely caused by the jacket." She sighed, shoulders slumping. "Seems like I remember that being a teenager is _hard_," she groaned.

"So is raising one," Tara reminded her. "We're all still getting used to things." She didn't bother saying the rest of the thought, that they were still getting used to life without Joyce, knowing first-hand that it was something Buffy thought about every single day.

The Slayer gave her a tired smile, nodding and patting the witch on one shoulder as she went upstairs to check on her sister. Tara put her chin on Willow's shoulder, arms still around her. "How much trouble am I in?" Willow asked quietly.

"A little bit," Tara answered, leaning back to meet her eyes. "You tried to break up with me," she reminded her. "You started the 'we'll still be friends' speech."

Willow grimaced, ducking her head. "I remember. Sorry. You know I didn't mean it. Of course I only want you, Tara!"

"I know that," Tara interjected quickly.

Willow tried a cautious grin. "So you forgive me?"

"Of course," Tara agreed, one hand sliding into the back of Willow's hair. She pressed a kiss to her fiancée's cheek.

Willow pouted that it wasn't a real kiss, but decided to take her punishment gracefully. "Hey, so, we're all alone now, and the movie's only halfway through. We could snuggle," she proposed hopefully.

"I could be okay with that," Tara agreed, letting Willow pull her to the couch. The redhead tucked her carefully into her own side, holding Tara's hand in her lap. They clicked the movie back on, resting in comfortable quiet. Tara couldn't stop herself from playing with Willow's engagement ring while they sat. Willow wasn't watching the movie at all, eyes locked on Tara's hand on hers. "Willow-hand," the blonde whispered, and Willow could feel her heart start beating faster.

"Thank you," Willow said quietly.

Tara smiled against her lover's shoulder. "What for?" she asked, voice low.

"For not letting me break up with you, for not being really pissed at me, for still agreeing to marry me," Willow listed her relief, squeezing Tara's hand. "For coming to find me when the Gentleman were in town, for not letting me die alone at Rack's, for staying with me in England…"

"Okay, shh, I think I get it, baby," Tara assured her. "And you're welcome. You've got nothing to thank me for, though."

Willow smiled, turning her head to meet Tara's eyes. "Well, I think I do." She leaned in slowly, hesitant and nervous for some reason. She paused a hairsbreadth from Tara's lips, letting the blonde close the gap. Tara pressed closer immediately, her lips parting to let Willow in. The redhead made no objection to the change, kissing her slowly. Neither pressed for anything beyond kissing, slowly and gently reestablishing their connection.

They parted reluctantly as they realized that they were both breathing hard, Willow letting her head drop onto Tara's chest. Tara's fingers were moving through her hair, and she could feel Tara's heart beating rapidly.

"I think it's time for bed," Tara breathed, pulling herself away reluctantly. Willow started to rise from the couch as well, but a look over Tara's shoulder stopped her. "And where do you think you're going?" the blonde asked, eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Um, with you?" Willow guessed hopefully.

Tara turned slightly, arms crossed over her chest. "You don't think trying to dump me two weeks before our wedding might deserve one night on the couch?"

The redhead blinked, flustered, and sank back onto the sofa. "Yeah, I guess so," she agreed morosely, looking pathetically at the couch. "Well, sleep well, I guess," she offered without looking up, swallowing thickly.

She blinked again as a hand appeared in her eye line, extended in expectation. "Come on," Tara said, smiling teasingly. "You know what that pout does to me."

Willow took the hand gratefully, grinning happily as she hopped to her feet. She pecked Tara's cheek, hugging her arm. "Thank you! Even though it is mean to tease me like that!"

"You tried to break up with me," Tara reminded her again as they climbed the stairs.

"Under the influence of a spell! It wasn't really me!" Willow protested. "But of course, you have every right to be annoyed at me! I completely understand! Thank you for letting me come to bed!"

"Calm down, sweetie," Tara prompted her, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple. "I wouldn't keep you out of our bed." She gave her lover a surprised look. "Don't you know by now that I can't sleep without you?"

The redhead blushed, smiling proudly. "Yeah, well, I figured that if I was in trouble you might just live without."

"Not possible, my love," Tara responded, letting go of her hand as they reached their own room and crossing to the dresser to change clothes.

Willow was quick to follow her, curling both arms around Tara and stopping her. "Let me make it up to you," she offered quietly, pressing kisses behind her girlfriend's ear. "Breakfast in bed, foot massage, anything you want."

Tara leaned back into her, thinking about the offer. "You can't cook, sweetie."

"No, I can't," Willow agreed immediately. "But for you I would try!"

"I know you would, baby," Tara said, laughing and letting her head roll to one side, giving Willow better access to the other. The redhead took the hint immediately, kissing her skin softly.

"Anything, Tara," she promised. "Any single thing you want," she stated, speaking slowly, her voice low. "Or multiple things, if you want," she amended herself, smiling against her skin.

Tara laughed, still leaning into her. "I have a few ideas how you can make it up to me," she said. "Give me time and I'll come up with something _really _good - like floor to ceiling cleaning, or doing my homework for a month, or…"

"Honey," Willow interrupted, standing on her toes to nip Tara's earlobe. "I would be happy to do any or all of that, but I was sort of thinking of something more immediate that I could do…" she prompted hopefully, her hands drifting down to work the button of Tara's skirt through the slot.

The blonde didn't stop her, laughing quietly. "I wouldn't say no."

Willow nipped her neck more firmly, speaking against her skin. "That's all I get? 'I wouldn't say no?'" she demanded incredulously, arms tightening to drag Tara backwards with her to their bed. "I guess I'll just have to show you how sorry I am," she said, glancing over her shoulder and turned to press Tara into the mattress.

The blonde stopped her as she started to lean forward for a kiss, both hands on the redhead's shoulders. "You know I'm not mad, right?"

Willow nodded, smiling softly. "I know that if you know that I only love you. Not any stupid jock from the high school." Tara nodded, smiling back up at her. The redhead wrinkled her nose as Tara's arms relaxed, letting her resume leaning in. "Even when I liked guys, jocks were not my type," she added teasingly, jumping as Tara pinched her side.

"Pushing it, sweetheart," the blonde warned her, hands slipping over the back of Willow's thighs to pull her more firmly onto the bed.

"That was supposed to be reassuring! Anyone who isn't you can just go away!" Willow protested as she obeyed Tara's pull. "You're the one I want to marry," she stated, pressing kisses to her lover's collarbone. "…have children with," she added, lips still pressed against her skin. "…grow old with…"

"Okay," Tara agreed. "I get the idea. We're not old yet though, lover."

Willow lifted her head to give the blonde a smirk, shaking her head. "No, we're not," she breathed, fingers working the buttons open down Tara's chest and kissing the skin as she revealed it. Tara's head fell back as Willow abruptly stopped, rolling off of her.

"Okay, seriously!" Tara groaned, sitting up on her elbows.

Willow was quick to stop her from moving further, one hand on Tara's chest to push her back down. "Tara, wait, I want to make it up to you here."

"I thought we were making excellent progress until you got off of me!"

Willow bit her lip, blushing brightly as she looked down at her hand on Tara's skin. The chest under her hand was rising and falling rapidly, Tara's heart thumping rapidly under her palm. Tara's eyes followed hers and the blonde took a deep breath. "Trust me," Willow whispered. "I know your birthday isn't for a few days, but…" Tara blinked in obvious surprise and Willow's eyes widened. "You didn't think I forgot, did you? Because that would never happen." She arched an eyebrow and stood up, both hands withdrawing to the edge of her own shirt. Tara sat up, interest obviously piqued. Willow grinned at her, nodding her head. "Go on, make yourself comfortable."

Tara swallowed thickly, scooting forward to the edge of the bed and leaning back on her hands. "Are you really…?"

Willow laughed gleefully, shrugging. "I said I would."

"Willow, honey, I would never…if you don't want to…"

Tara paused as the redhead giggled and inched her shirt up. "It's kind of fun," Willow confessed, loving the instantly slack-jawed look on Tara's face. "I'll stop if you want…"

"No!" Tara interrupted, throat suddenly dry. Willow grinned and Tara shifted her weight on the edge of the bed. "No, I mean, if you want to-if you're okay…" She swallowed hard and wiped her hands down the sides of her skirt.

Willow took a step back towards her, her hands coming up to touch Tara's shoulders. "I'm fine, sweetie. You seem nervous, though." She poked her tongue out between her teeth. "You've seen me take my clothes off before. What's the difference now?"

Tara could feel her ears burning and she leaned into Willow's touch. "You're not normally intentionally trying to… s-seduce me." She smiled crookedly, fingers catching the edge of her girlfriend's pants and sliding up under the edge of her t-shirt. Willow took a shaky breath of her own and Tara leaned her head back to look at her. "You do it without even trying, you know that? You don't even have to do anything and I want you."

"It's the same way for me," Willow gasped. There was a moments pause, their eyes locked, before Willow surrendered to the inexorable force that drew them together. Tara was the sun she orbited around and that gravity pulled her in. Their lips met slowly, Willow pulling Tara's bottom lip between her own before she realized what she was doing and pulled herself back. "You vixeny-vixen, with your lips, and your…lips," she said. "I was trying to strip here, and you're all pulling me in with the cute stuttering and the touchy touching, and the kisses that make my brain go all wobbly."

Tara blushed brightly, smiling shyly. "Well, if y-you want to strip, g-go ahead," she offered, feeling her whole body tremble as Willow took a few steps back and resumed lifting her shirt again. It took Tara about three seconds to changer her mind, crossing the room to wrap Willow into her arms and throw the shirt off herself. "I want to do it," she said, laughing. Her lips fell to Willow's neck while her fingers busied themselves with the rest of her girlfriend's clothes.

Willow's head fell back on her neck, traitorous hands holding Tara to her while she laughed, enjoying the attention. "I thought I was, Tara, God, I thought I was supposed to be making it up to you." She could barely speak for trying to get any breath.

Tara laughed against her skin, arms squeezing her lover. "Does it matter? We're together. And if you still feel bad about it, I'll let you make it up to me later, okay?"

Willow nodded, kissing her deeply as she stumbled them back toward their bed, kicking her pants off as they moved. The bed got to them before Willow expected it to and they tumbled into it laughing and smiling before they were kissing again, the stress of their day driven out of their minds by the familiar comfort and passion they found in each other.


	5. Chapter 5

Willow was confused as she woke up, the room simultaneously familiar and foreign. "Tara?" she asked, looking around Buffy's bedroom.

"Nope," the Slayer responded cheerfully from behind her. "It's me. Try not to act too disappointed."

"Why am I in here?" Willow asked as she sat up, rubbing her hair. Buffy didn't answer, just arched an eyebrow at her and waited for her to remember. "Oh! Oh yeah!"

"Happy wedding day!" Buffy said, grinning at her as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Here's breakfast," she announced, handing over a plate and fork.

Willow studied the apparently normal food doubtfully, glancing at the Slayer. "Um…"

"Tara made it! It's safe to eat," Buffy stated, rolling her eyes. "I saw that look, Willow Rosenberg!" she said before the witch could protest. "Today's the last day I can call you that," she commented with a laugh.

Willow blinked, jaw dropping slightly. "Whoa. It is. That's awesome!" The final two weeks leading up to their wedding had flown by, Willow's overly complicated plan for their simply ceremony entirely complete. Though Buffy and Dawn had insisted that the witches spend the night apart, prompting the redhead's confused wakeup.

"How are you guys working the name thing, anyway?"

"Hyphenated," Willow answered. "Rosenberg-Maclay."

The Slayer nodded, grinning. "Cool. Well, eat up. It's your turn in the shower in thirty minutes," she directed. Willow grinned back at her, picking at her food rather than eating, her stomach too jumpy to risk it.

Buffy let her know when it was time for her to take her turn in the bathroom, the Slayer rooting through her closet trying to find her shoes for the wedding. Willow collected her robe and ducked out of the bedroom. She was surprised, but not disappointed, to bump into Tara in the hall, the blonde's hair still wet from the shower.

The blonde moved to cover her face with both hands, protesting immediately. "Willow! We're not supposed to see each other!" She kept her voice down, peeking between her fingers at her fiancée. "God, do you look good," she said.

Willow blushed, pushing at her hair with one hand while the other pulled Tara's hands down from her face. "I just woke up," she protested. "You're the one who looks amazing!"

"You always look adorable right after you wake up," Tara stated, her free hand rising to push down a lump in Willow's hair. "It sticks up like this every day. It's so cute!" Willow flattened it with her own hand, ducking her head in embarrassment. "No, don't," the blonde protested, finger under her chin to guide her eyes back up. "It's adorable and I completely missed seeing it first thing this morning."

Willow gave her a smile, biting her lip. "I'm sure it hasn't gotten much better in the hour I've been awake," she offered, still patting it down. "You look…but, I mean, you always look great in the shower," she mused to herself.

Tara blushed brightly, shaking her head. "Willow! You really shouldn't be talking like that today," she reminded her. "We're not even supposed to be talking."

"It's not my fault," the redhead protested. "Buffy said it was safe to go into the hall. I didn't know you were out here and all wet and naked!"

Tara's blush grew impossibly brighter, her hand moving quickly to hold the top of her robe closed. "Okay, you have to stop talking now," she said. "And I forgot the hair dryer. I'm getting ready in Dawn's room." She sidled sideways, edging around Willow. "And I should go before we get caught."

Willow was quick to stop her. "You're going to leave me on our wedding day with no smooches?" she demanded incredulously.

Tara rolled her eyes but stopped, letting out a deep breath. "One kiss?" she checked cautiously. Willow nodded, smiling sweetly and stepping closer so that her chest touched Tara's. "Just one," Tara warned her even as she leaned in.

Willow kept it slow, making an effort to keep it chaste for the first few heartbeats but she gave it up quickly, letting her tongue slide forward to explore the familiar territory. Their mouths separated to catch another breath, both coming back into contact. "Two," Willow counted teasingly, sucking Tara's lip into her mouth. Tara whimpered into the kiss, but pulled away.

"Willow…" she started, but the redhead chased her lips, kissing her again and moving her back toward the wall.

"Three," Willow groaned, her hands sliding around Tara's waist.

"No, no, no!" Buffy's voice interrupted them, and she hauled Willow back bodily. "Bad Willow!" she chided, putting the redhead behind her. "You're not even supposed to even see each other until later! And definitely not supposed to be kissing!"

"How come I'm the one getting fussed at?" Willow asked, grinning even as she argued. "She was kissing me back! And she pretty much seduced me," she added. "I mean, look at her," she said, gesturing to her fiancée, the blonde dressed in a robe and slippers.

"Hey!" Tara protested, wrapping her arms around herself. "You said one kiss!"

Buffy laughed at that, crossing her own arms over her chest. "Because you guys only ever kiss once?" she asked incredulously. Willow's mouth opened to protest and the Slayer shook her head, pointing at her firmly. "You get in the bathroom. You've had your illicit kisses for today, now go take your shower," she directed sternly, smirking.

Willow slumped her shoulders dramatically, shuffling slowly into the bathroom. "I love you!" she called over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her.

Tara and Buffy exchanged looks, both grinning. "I'm going to assume she's talking to you," Buffy commented.

The witch laughed, shaking her head. "I don't know, Buffy. She loves you." She pushed herself off of the wall, curling one arm around the Slayer's waist. "She loved you before she ever loved me."

Buffy shook her head, laughing as well. "Yeah, but she never asked me to marry her," she commented.

"True," Tara acceded with a crooked smile. "Slayer or not, I'd have to fight you for her."

Buffy laughed louder, leaning her head against the blonde's shoulder. "I think _she'd _fight me for you before she'd ever let it come to that. And I don't have any intentions toward Willow," she said, grinning. "Except for friendship, of course," she clarified.

"You're a good friend, Buffy," Tara acknowledged. "We wouldn't be getting married today if it wasn't for you."

The Slayer shrugged, smiling. "Anything for you guys." They both heard the shower start up and Tara couldn't stop a smile of her own. Buffy laughed, pushing Tara back toward her sister's room. "Go on," she prompted. "We don't want a repeat of the kissing."

"Speak for yourself," Tara murmured, blushing as she realized that she'd spoken aloud.

"Oh, come on," Buffy said with a laugh. "You guys really can't keep your hands off until tonight? You're going on your honeymoon in twelve hours."

Tara shrugged, grinning helplessly. "Yeah, well… You're right. I should probably get out of here before she gets out." Anyone with eyes could see how she and Willow felt about each other and she didn't want to deny it.

It didn't take long for either of them to get dressed and ready. Willow finished early, pacing restlessly back and forth in Buffy's bedroom. The Slayer was still doing her own makeup and she sighed. "You know, if you make another lap I'm going to send you out of here," she warned her friend. "You've already kissed the bride, you big cheater!"

"That was a spell and I did _not_ cheat!" Willow protested. "I had minor insanity, but there was no cheating!"

Buffy shook her head, laughing. "I meant this morning, with your sneaky kissing," she clarified. The phone rang and she gave a sigh of relief. "Can you answer that while I finish up my hair?" she asked, pointing toward the phone on her dresser.

Willow answered the phone as requested, surprised to hear Giles on the other end. "Congratulations are in order, I believe," he greeted her and she laughed.

"Not quite yet, but thank you," she replied happily. "I didn't think we'd hear from you today!"

He laughed. "If one of you has a moment, you can see me today," he offered.

"What does that mean?" Willow asked, frowning in confusion.

"I've just arrived at the airport. I hope I haven't missed the ceremony," he answered, still chucking quietly.

"No! It's still _forever_ away!"

Giles laughed again. "I'm going to assume that that is exaggeration, Willow. I had it on good authority that the wedding was today."

"Good authority from who?" Willow asked curiously.

"Buffy, I believe," he stated.

"Buffy?" Willow asked, turning to look at her friend. "You told Giles?"

The Slayer looked confused, voice muffled by the bobby-pins she had in her mouth. "What? Told him what?"

"About the wedding!"

"No," Buffy said with a laugh as she went back to work on her hair. "You did, remember? I just told him when and where and arranged for him to visit."

"So you're here?" Willow asked excitedly. "You're home?"

The Watcher laughed as the phone beeped the end of his minutes on the payphone. "I have to get off the phone now, but if someone could come pick me up, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Somebody'll be on their way in a minute. Just hang on," she assured him as the pay phone hung up on them. "Buffy…"

"He's here?" the Slayer guessed, grinning in the mirror at her. "Xand should be able to go pick him up."

"No," Willow objected. "I meant, I was going to say thanks, you know, for getting him here today."

Buffy shrugged, putting down her mascara. "No problem at all. He didn't want to miss your wedding."

The witch crossed the room quickly, hugging the Slayer around her shoulders. "Oh, you're just the best. Thank you!"

Buffy hugged Willow's arms, laughing. "Of course, Will. I'm liking all this gratitude," she commented with a grin.

"Well a hug's all you're getting, sister," Willow said with a laugh of her own. "I'm a one-woman girl!"

Buffy pretended to pout, letting out a deep breath. "Darn, and I've been keeping a torch this whole time," she teased.

"Watch it! I'm spoken for!" Willow teased back, careful not to muss Buffy's hair as she pulled back. "I'm ready, so I could go get Giles."

"I don't think so!" Buffy protested immediately. "You're just trying to sneak another look at Tara. _I'll_ go see if Xander can go. You stay in here and away from your to-be-wife."

Willow pouted, but nodded and resumed pacing Buffy's bedroom as the Slayer shut the door firmly behind her. She jumped as Buffy returned after a short time. "Is he here?" she asked eagerly, anxious to get the day going.

"He'll be here in five minutes," Buffy responded, grinning at her friend. "You need to calm down," she suggested. "Don't want you to burn up all your energy before the honeymoon," she teased.

Willow let out a deep breath, trying to obey and calm down. "Not much chance of that," she commented, resuming her pacing and grinning at Buffy.

The Slayer rolled her eyes as she checked herself out in the mirror. "I'm so glad we're going to be out of hearing range tonight," she mused, waving. "Come over here. I need to fix your hair. All your pacing has got the front looking funky."

Willow skipped to her side, giggling helplessly. "And I don't want my hair to be funky on my wedding day!" she agreed cheerfully.

Buffy laughed, turning Willow so she could fix the curls. When she was satisfied she moved around her to check them both in the mirror again. "Looking good, lady. Tara's going to lose it."

Willow giggled, blushing red. "Yeah, right. I'm the one who's going to faint. I bet she looks amazing. I mean, of course she does all the time, but I'm sure her dress is incredible, and I just want to see her! Can I see her now?"

Just then there was a quick knock on the door, Dawn poking her head in. "Ready?" she asked cheerfully. Willow jumped, nodding her head eagerly. "I'll take that as a yes," the teen commented. "Tara's already downstairs and Xander's outside with Giles."

"Tara's already downstairs? Are we behind? Am I late? I didn't miss it, did I?" Willow chattered, her hands siding down either side of her dress as she started to pace again.

Buffy caught her quickly, exchanging grins with her sister. "No, no more pacing!" she prompted. "We just got your hair fixed and all you have left to do is go down into the yard and get married," Buffy reminded her quickly, catching the witch as the redhead slumped backwards into her arms. "Okay, up you get. Let's go downstairs. Dawn, will you make sure Tara's out of the way?'

The teen nodded, grinning. "I'll call up the stairs once I make sure that it's safe to come down," she agreed. "Don't trip going down the stairs, Willow," she called over her shoulder.

"Great, Dawn! Thanks _so_ much!" Buffy said behind her. "You're not going to fall, Will. You're going to be fine. You've got this. You can do this," she coached her friend encouragingly.

Willow gave her a weak smile, nodding. "You'll be behind me, right? Catch me if I start to fall?" she asked.

"Of course, Willow. You're going to be fine, though. It's you and Tara. Nothing to worry about," Buffy promised. "Just take deep breaths, okay?"

Willow let her eyes slide closed, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, okay. You're right. I can do this. It's me and Tara." Buffy pulled her into a hug, smiling over her friend's shoulder as she heard Dawn call to them. "Oh God, it's time," Willow breathed.

"Shh, it's okay," Buffy promised. "Come on. Let's get you married, make an honest woman of you."

Willow laughed happily, grinning. Buffy looped an arm through hers, leading them out of her room and down the stairs. The Slayer led them through the front door and around one side of the house. She whistled sharply once they reached the corner, giving Willow a soothing shoulder pat and a smile.

"Let's do this," Willow said softly, nodding as she met her friend's eyes.

"We're waiting on Xander's whistle," Buffy said. "And then I go out and walk down with Xander and then it's you and Tara, okay?"

"It seems silly that we're walking out in pairs," Willow observed, starting to get anxious again. "We're the only people here. I mean, you guys will get to the front and then we get to the front, but then there's just us and there's no front because there's nobody behind us."

"Giles is here, and Anya and Dawn," Buffy reminded her. "And you're the one who planned this, remember?"

Willow nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, you're right." She grinned, brushing her hands over her sides. "Okay, yeah, let's go!"

"Just one second," Buffy coaxed her even as she heard the signal from the far side of the house. "Now, then, I guess," she said, smiling as Willow's eyes got wide. She leaned forward and kissed the redhead's forehead, lingering until she felt Willow relax.

"I'm getting married, Buff. She's the only woman I'll ever love. You missed your chance," Willow joked as she met her best friend's eyes. "But thank you."

"Of course," the Slayer agreed. "I'll see you out there." She squeezed Willow's shoulder gently before turning and walking out to meet Xander. Willow edged closer to the corner to watch her friends walk out, both turning back to watch for her and Tara. Buffy gave her a wink and Willow swallowed thickly as she started to advance.

The first few steps were spent trying not to stumble over her own feet but the effort was wasted as she looked up to see Tara. She froze instantly, her jaw dropping as she stared.

Tara laughed but took a shuddering breath of her own. "Wow," she breathed, reaching one hand for Willow's. The redhead's fingers tightened around her hand but she didn't react farther, still staring at Tara in wonder. "Willow, sweetheart…" Tara whispered. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Perfect," Willow breathed. "You're perfect."

Tara blushed brightly, squeezing her hand. "Can we get married now?" she requested and Willow's eyes snapped from her face to where their friends were watching with smiles on their face.

"Can we hurry this up?" Anya requested across the yard. The others gave her exasperated sighs and she shrugged. "Our wedding didn't take this long!"

"Ahn, I don't think you're remembering clearly," Xander said, giving her a soothing pat on the shoulder. "We've only been out here for a few minutes."

Anya huffed, pointing at Willow. "But she's all entranced and likely to stay that way. I was helping!" she insisted.

Tara and Willow exchanged looks, the blonde raising an eyebrow at her. "Entranced?"

Willow blushed, nodding. "You're beautiful," she said sincerely. "Tara, I, you…" She swallowed thickly. "You're beautiful."

Tara smiled, her thumb brushing over the redhead's knuckles. "So are you. You look amazing."

Willow looked down at herself, grinning sheepishly. "Yours is better."

Tara shook her head, free hand coming up to stroke down the side of Willow's neck. "Not from where I'm standing," she said softly.

"Okay, you might never hear me say this again, but Anya's right. This is taking too long. Let's go," Willow said, squeezing Tara's hand.

Tara laughed happily, seeing the others laughing as well, Giles smiling affectionately. "Okay, let's go," she prompted, feeling Willow pull her along. The officiant was smiling herself but didn't speak until Tara gave her a nod.

Willow choked up during her vows but finished them without moving her eyes from Tara's. The blonde's voice was clear and confident, which everyone there knew was only because of Willow. The minister finished and declared that they were free to kiss the brides, an invitation that Willow lunged on. The kiss dragged on, Willow pulling back to glare as Anya cleared her throat.

"I'm hungry," the former demon offered petulantly.

"Fine," Willow huffed, waving toward the house. "We're done. Let's go eat."

Anya skipped away and Xander hugged Willow. "Sorry," he offered. "I'm proud of you."

"For not picking a fight?" she asked, leaning her head against his chest while her eyes lingered on Tara hugging Buffy.

"No," Xander protested, and Willow lifted her head. "For this," he explained, lifting her left hand to display her rings. "You and Tara. I'm proud of you." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm proud of you and I love you." His voice was thick and she gave him a smile.

"You're the only man I will love forever," Willow stated, looking him in the eyes. "You know that, right?"

He nodded, grinning. "I'm counting on it," he agreed. She hugged him again, grinning against his shirt. "And now so is Tara," he joked.

Willow swatted his side. "Tara knows she has nothing to worry about," she said, meeting her wife's eyes and feeling the irresistible pull to her. Xander gave her one last squeeze and let her go, the redhead moving inexorably into Tara's arms.

They kissed softly, Willow's hands holding Tara's face while the blonde's arms were wrapped around her wife's waist. They both heard Buffy and Dawn laughing but they ignored it until Anya yelled from the house.

Willow groaned as they separated, leaning her head against the blonde's chest. "If she's going to interrupt us every time we kiss…"

"Shh," Tara hushed her, smiling and kissing the top of Willow's head. "Let's go inside and she'll stop."

"This was supposed to be my basking time," Willow complained. "We've only been married for like five minutes!"

Tara laughed, pulling her head up to kiss her again. "I don't know about you, but every single second I'm around you is my basking time." Willow gave her a blushing smile, biting her lip in a way Tara found perfectly adorable. "And we're going to be married for the rest of our lives."

"I'm yours," Willow agreed softly. "Forever."

Tara hugged her tighter, leaning her head against Willow's. "And I am, you know?"

Willow didn't finish it, didn't need to. They both knew that they belonged to the other. "I know," she whispered. "Okay, let's go eat," she said at a normal volume. She couldn't help laughing as Anya pelted them with rice as they came through the backdoor.

"Ahn, what are you doing?" Xander asked, covering his eyes with one hand.

She stopped, one hand still buried in the bag of rice. "It's traditional," she said, confused. "I read about it. At weddings it's traditional to throw rice at the newlyweds."

"It's traditional to _shower_ them with rice," he corrected her and she blinked at him.

She frowned, still confused. "You want me to shower with them?" she asked. "Because I don't think Willow likes that idea."

Xander coughed, pounding his chest with one fist while Giles groaned and buried his face in his hand. "Oh dear Lord," they all heard him sigh.

Willow was glaring at Anya and pushed Tara back protectively, her hands behind her to hold the blonde's hips. "No, I do _not_ like that idea!"

Tara laughed, resting her hands on Willow's shoulders and sliding her arms around her wife's neck and resting her chin on her own arm, leaning her head against Willow's head.

"Yeah, and it wasn't exactly…you know what, let's just eat," Xander said quickly, giving Willow a grin and curling an arm around Anya's shoulders.

Tara smiled peacefully, eyes widening after a moment as the hands on her hips went lower and slid to her behind. "Willow…we're in the kitchen," she whispered into her lover's ear, feeling the redhead shiver against her. Willow didn't speak, just swallowed thickly and let her hands stay where they were. Tara cleared her throat warningly and Willow gave her a final squeeze before sliding her hands back around herself and up to curl around Tara's arms at her neck.

"Okay, reception time, I guess," Willow announced, leaning back into Tara. "And then the honeymoon," she continued, voice lower.

"Which is where Giles comes in," Buffy chimed in cheerfully.

Everyone stopped what they were doing immediately to gape at her, the Slayer's mouth closing with a snap. "That's not what - it's not like it sounds… Giles, um, help?"

The Watcher cleared his throat, cleaning his glasses unconsciously. "What Buffy meant to say was that the coven has extended an invitation for the pair of you to spend your honeymoon in England if you wish."

Willow turned her head just enough to see Tara's smile, grinning herself in surprise. "Really? You'd want to go?" she asked, leaning forward to get a better glimpse of the blonde's face.

"You want to go," Tara answered plainly. "And I want to be wherever you are," she stated as Willow nodded.

Willow spun in her arms, kissing her eagerly and driving them back into the wall. "You are the best. Ever," she said between kisses.

Anya frowned, stepping on Xander's foot. "You never say things like that to me!"

"Hey!" he yelped. "Honey, oww! Willow, stop it! You're making the rest of us married folks look bad!"

Willow could help giggling goofily, biting her lip. "Married folks," she repeated happily. Tara laughed at seeing her so happy, leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "We're married folks!" she gushed.

Tara nodded, combing her fingers through Willow's hair. "We are," she agreed softly. She trailed her eyes downward, sucking in a deep breath. "Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look today? And I love your hair," she said, playing with the curls.

Willow blushed, looking down at herself and then at Tara. "Thank you, but it's all you from where I'm standing." She trailed one finger down the length of Tara's bare arm, watching the resulting goose bumps in fascination. "Are you cold, sweetie?" she asked considerately, biting her lip. "Don't want you getting sick."

Tara considered that, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile. "That wouldn't be good, would it?" she agreed teasingly, knowing what Willow was leading up to. "I'll be fine for a little bit though. I want to spend some time with everybody. Especially now that we're not having an in-town honeymoon."

Willow shook her head, her nose wrinkled. "What do you take me for? There's no honeymooning on the Hellmouth. I was going to take you away from here." She shrugged. "I wasn't planning on England exactly, but we weren't staying here." She watched Tara's expression carefully as she spoke again. "If you don't want to go to England I have the other plans I made."

Tara smiled encouragingly. "You really want to go, don't you?" Willow nodded, smiling almost sheepishly. "Then we're going," the blonde finished. Willow's mouth opened to speak and Tara shook her head minutely. "I loved England, and I would love to go back there with you."

Willow nodded, grinning. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, thank them," Tara reminded her, nodding her head toward their friends.

Buffy was leaned against the counter talking to Giles but she looked up as Willow and Tara separated, the redhead throwing herself at the Slayer and her Watcher. Xander curled his free arm around Tara, the three of them watching Willow hug Buffy and Giles. "So, when are you two leaving to have married sex in England?" Anya asked cheerfully from Xander's other side. The others turned slowly to look at her, all of them gaping. "What?" she asked. "Last time we were in England, Willow was still doing her holding-out thing!"

The redhead groaned, slapping a hand to her forehead. "It wasn't 'holding-out!'" she protested. "I was trying to do it right, take things slow!"

"Taking things slow just means less time for sex!" Anya retorted. "The two of you are meant to be together so anytime that you're not is just wasted!"

Willow blinked in surprise. "Okay, it might be a sign of some new apocalypse that I agree completely with Anya twice in one day."

The former demon looked smug, smirking at Buffy and Giles. "Perhaps we should research," the Watcher suggested dryly.

"Nope!" Willow declared. "My wedding day is a research free day!" She looked up at him with a smile. "How long are you staying?"

He sighed, his eyes sliding from Buffy to Dawn and Xander. "I'm afraid I'm needed back tomorrow. That will work with your schedule?"

Willow nodded, seeing Buffy's disappointed look. "At least you came for an actual visit and not just some end-of-the-world thing," the Slayer pointed out. He gave her a tired smile, nodding. "And you'll be back soon, right?" she asked hopefully, trying to squelch it.

"As soon as I'm able," he agreed vaguely, a frown on his face.

Buffy frowned herself, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned now.

Giles took a deep breath as he realized that the others were listening. "This is a celebration, Buffy. We can talk business another time."

Willow frowned, glancing over her shoulder to where Tara and Xander were watching. "What is it, Giles?" she asked seriously.

"I have nothing concrete, just murmurs, fears," he confessed. "Nothing for any of you to worry about."

"Yet," Xander filled in the blank. "Giles…"

"It is Willow and Tara's wedding day," he reminded them. "I won't be responsible for ending the celebration." He glanced around and picked up a cup. "I'd like to propose a toast," he prompted, waiting for the others to find glasses.

"Willow, I've watched you grow from a studious young girl to a remarkably strong young woman…"

"Still studious though," Xander interjected with a grin as Giles gave him a look.

"Yes, quite," the Watcher agreed. "And in all that time, I've never seen you as happy as you are with Tara. The two of you really are quite astounding together and I wish you all the best." He lifted his cup, leading the others to take their sips. Buffy cheered and tapped a ring against the edge of her glass. Willow met Tara's eyes with a smile, holding one hand out to her. The blonde slipped out from under Xander's arm and moved to her, kissing her softly while their friends cheered.

"All this kissing is making me horny," Anya declared suddenly and Willow groaned, dropping her head against Tara's shoulder.

"Um, hon?" Xander asked hesitantly.

"Not as though I'm suddenly aroused by women," she clarified. "I've just been thinking about the amount of sex they're going to get to have tonight and I'm jealous and horny."

"Um…" Xander stuttered.

Willow lifted her head, squeezing Tara's hand. "Okay, no more talking," she declared. "Time for eating and drinking." She took another long sip, draining her glass. The others blinked at her in surprise and Tara took the glass from her as the redhead looked around for the bottle.

"I think you're done with this, sweetheart," Tara prompted her quietly, whispering into her ear. "I don't want you tipsy later."

Willow's eyes slid closed and she took a shaky breath. Tara's lips closed briefly on her earlobe and she could feel her fingers tremble, her heart beating triple fast in her chest. She lifted her hand as Tara pulled back, letting the blonde see her shakiness. "I don't need anymore to drink to feel shaky, just you," she confessed, smiling sheepishly.

"Aww, you're not nervous, are you?" Tara asked teasingly, privately thrilled.

Willow swallowed thickly, her eyes trailing down Tara's wedding dress. "Yeah," she said hoarsely, throat dry suddenly.

Tara blushed, ducking her head and causing her hair to fall in her face. "It's just me, nothing to be nervous about," she reminded the redhead.

Willow's shaky hand pushed her hair back gently, Tara leaning her head into her wife's hand. "There's nothing about you that is _just _anything, Tara. You're everything." Their eyes locked and Willow coughed, breaking the stare. Both of them became suddenly aware and grateful that their friends were in the midst of their own conversations, the chatter covering their own quiet talk.

The small ceremony and wedding party hadn't made another location for the wedding necessary, the Summers' yard more than adequate. Xander and Anya had decorated the yard with lanterns, and as the sky darkened outside it appeared as if there were candles floating in the trees. Buffy had set up speakers on the porch and she turned on music as they finished eating and wandered back into the yard. Anya pulled Xander into the grass to dance, Willow watching them for a few moments before she extended a hand to Tara. "Dance with me?"

Tara nodded, giving Buffy and Dawn shy smiles as she took Willow's hand. The redhead led them down into the yard and Buffy leaned against the railing of the porch to watch her friends. Giles moved to stand beside her but didn't speak, standing up straight at her side.

"It's going to be bad, isn't it?" she asked softly, eyes still locked on the spinning couples.

He didn't answer for a long moment. "Possibly. I don't want to…" He sighed. "Let's just enjoy the evening," he requested, one hand rising to rest lightly on his Slayer's back, the night peaceful around them for once and he didn't want to spoil it.


	6. Chapter 6

Willow jumped as the buzzer sounded all over the plane, the sound waking her from sleep. Tara was smiling at her as she lifted her head and Willow rubbed her eyes. "What's that noise?" she grumbled.

"The fasten seatbelt warning," Tara answered, stretching her shoulder as Willow's head moved and freed it. "We're landing soon."

"We're in England?" Willow asked. "Is your arm okay?" she continued without waiting for an answer to the first question.

Tara nodded, smiling softly. "Yes, we're in England. And my arm's fine, just a little tingly," she said, flexing her hand.

Willow picked up her wife's hand, massaging it gently and playing with the new ring on her finger. "Did you get any sleep?" she asked, voice low and she tried unsuccessfully to hold back a wicked smile. "We were kind of busy after that last layover."

Tara gave her a look, blushing brightly. "You shush," she directed, narrowing her eyes warningly. Willow's mouth opened to tease her further and Tara shook her head. "Don't even think about it."

"We're on our honeymoon and on a plane. The mile high club is practically expected!" Willow whispered, grinning devilishly as Tara covered her eyes with her free hand, hiding her face.

"Well, we're in the club for sure," Tara agreed helplessly.

Willow laughed, hugging Tara's arm. "Do you think it's a called a hat trick if it's three times on the same flight, or is there another name for it?" she mused to herself.

Giles was waking up in the window seat and he groaned as he caught Willow's last question. "Oh, good Lord. Change the subject please," he directed the blushing girls.

"Have you heard anything new from the coven?" Willow asked, blushing brightly but still playing with Tara's fingers.

"Not since we left California," he answered. "Have they said how long it will be until we land?"

"Ten minutes," Tara spoke up from the far side of the row, Willow in the middle between herself and Giles.

"Excellent," he sighed, and they could both hear the tension he was trying to hide in his voice.

Willow gave him a look, expression serious. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

He shook his head. "I have no doubt that you will be called upon to do your part, but for now I'm going to insist that the two of you concentrate on your honeymoon." He gave her a strained smile, patting her shoulder gently. "As soon as we know anything more than rumors, we'll tell you."

She nodded, staying silent as the speakers crackled and the pilot announced that they were beginning their descent. It was dark when they landed and the streets were crowded, but a short cab ride had them back at Giles' apartment, the Watcher ducking into his room for a quick shower before he was packing another bag. He gave Willow a key to his apartment and was gone again, on his way to a meeting of the Council and then on to the coven where Willow had finished her magical rehabilitation. Willow and Tara were going to spend a day or two in London and then join him there for the remainder of their honeymoon.

The newlyweds spent two days playing tourist before they decided to join the coven at their remote farmhouse. However, when they got there Giles was nowhere to be found and their friends at the coven told them that he'd left again almost as soon as he'd arrived.

Willow was worried, and so was Tara, but they did their best to keep themselves distracted, busy visiting with the coven witches who'd helped them so much. The last time they'd been there they'd both been occupied with Willow's magical training so they were enjoying getting to know the women as friends rather than merely instructors. Their trip went by quickly and the day came that they were planning to leave, but Giles was still gone. Willow had called Buffy when Giles had first disappeared and the Slayer had been worried enough that she had called the Council. But even after two weeks they hadn't managed to find any clue where he had gone and Willow was hesitant to leave England without tracking him down.

Tara agreed with her worried wife and a week after they were supposed to leave Willow was surprised to find that Tara had unpacked their things where they had previously just been living out of their suitcases, and was on the phone when she returned from morning meditation. "Yeah, okay. We'll be here and we'll keep in touch," Tara said, giving her a smile as she paced slowly with the phone. "Okay, you too, Buffy."

"Buffy?" Willow questioned as the blonde hung up the phone. "Is everything okay at home?"

"There's been some craziness," Tara answered, hanging the phone up and putting it to the side. "How was your time this morning?" she asked. They practiced magic together, but their meditations remained private.

Willow frowned, rolling her shoulders slowly. "A little strange. Weird energy moving lately."

Tara met her eyes, giving her a concerned look as she nodded. "I've been feeling it too. Are you okay?" She moved from the dresser to stand in front of her, sliding one hand down Willow's arm to take her hand.

Willow shook her head, her eyes closing as her free hand rubbed at her own temples. "It's getting worse. Everyday is a little darker." She opened her eyes and gave Tara a weak smile. "Not the phrase you want to hear on your honeymoon, but I swear it's nothing to do with you."

"Hey," Tara interrupted her gently. "I know that. The only thing I care about is that you're okay."

Willow nodded, taking a deep breath. "What did Buffy say?"

"I told her we would stay here, keep helping the coven search for Giles," Tara told her, thumb stroking over the redhead's knuckles. "I know you're worried about him and so am I."

Willow glanced down at their joined hands. "You said there was weirdness at home?" She pulled Tara to the bed, guiding them both to sit on the edge.

Tara nodded, frowning. "Yeah, she said Spike might be killing again, and she…"

"Whoa, wait," Willow interrupted. "Spike's killing again? The chip stopped working?"

"Maybe. They're not sure. She met a vampire who claimed Spike sired him," Tara explained.

"But he hasn't hurt Dawn, or Xander, right?"

"No, they're okay. Dawn had an encounter the same night that Buffy met the vampire," she continued. "She told Buffy she saw Joyce," Tara said, not looking at her but watching her fingers tracing the lines in Willow's palm.

"_What_?" Willow asked, surprised. "Was it really? What was it? It couldn't have really…could it?"

Tara shrugged. "I don't know. Grief can make you see some crazy things, but it really didn't sound like that's what this was. Dawn had a rough night. Buffy said the house was trashed. Dawn apparently tried to expel something from the house, something she said was attacking Joyce, keeping her from talking to Dawnie."

Willow sighed heavily. "Poor kid. She was home alone?"

Tara nodded with a grimace. "Buffy said she won't say what Joyce told her, just that it's got her scared."

The redhead groaned, dropping her head into her free hand. "Are you sure we shouldn't go home? I haven't had any luck finding Giles."

The blonde met her eyes seriously. "That's up to you. Buffy said it's more or less under control at home."

Willow snorted, shaking her head. "That could be true most days, optimistically," she complained. "What do you think we should do? I mean, this is an equal partnership marriage."

Tara couldn't help smiling in spite of everything. "I like that word," she murmured, shaking her head to clear her mind. "Uh, well, we could give it a few more days here. They're going to widen the locator spells to more remote regions tomorrow. We could help with that."

Willow nodded. "Yeah, okay. That sounds good. Good plan."

Tara cocked her head, still dragging her fingers over Willow's hand, gradually expanding her range so that her fingers were stroking over the underside of Willow's wrist. "We'll find Giles," she said reassuringly. "And we'll figure out what's going on at home."

Willow breathed deeply, squeezing Tara's hand. "Could we…I don't know, could we go for a walk or something?" she requested. "I know we've been doing all the good honeymoony parts, but this is starting to feel like a working vacation." She rubbed her temple with the heel of her free hand, blinking in confusion as Tara's hand slipped out from hers and brushed her other hand away from her head.

"Let me," Tara murmured, taking over massaging her head for her. Willow groaned, leaning forward into her wife's hands. "Of course we can take a walk," she agreed softly. Willow leaned further forward and shifted her feet onto the bed. She curled onto her side as her head was guided to Tara's lap, the blonde's long fingers still working through her hair. "I love your hair. I've always loved your hair," she murmured.

Willow moaned happily, letting her eyes slide closed. "Even when you didn't love me?"

Tara flicked one finger sharply against the top of Willow's head for that, soothing the sting a second later. "I always loved you and you know it. I never stopped, never will stop, not for one second."

Willow curled one arm around Tara's leg, squeezing her. "I know that, sorry."

Tara kept her fingers combing through Willow's hair all the way to the end. "Your hair's getting long," she commented.

"Want me to cut it?" Willow asked, yawning and stretching as she settled more comfortably against Tara's leg.

The blonde laughed, shaking her head. "It's your hair. You can do what you want with it."

"Well, now we're a boring old married couple, so I've got to keep you interested," Willow reasoned teasingly.

Tara leaned over to kiss her immediately, laughing harder. "You don't have to do anything to keep me interested, you goof. Though, if I have any say in what goes on with your hair, I would like to ask that you don't dye it."

"Got a thing for redheads, do you?" Willow teased, rolling onto her back to look up at Tara.

"I've got a thing for _you_," Tara answered, shaking her head.

Willow stretched, arching her back and groaning as she sat up. "We should go on that walk or I might never let you leave this room."

Tara smiled, nodding. "Lead the way, beautiful."

They spent the afternoon exploring, the grounds covered in a dusting of snow. Willow's fingers were blue by the time they got back to the farmhouse, the coven witches already seated for dinner. They joined a long table and jumped into the conversation. They had all finished eating by the time the sun went down, but were still lingering around the table talking. Willow's back was toward the door, but she froze as Tara's jaw dropped, her eyes locked on the door.

"Giles," Tara gasped, moving quickly.

Willow spun on her seat, on her feet as soon as she saw him. "Where the hell have you been?" she asked.

He was stomping snow off his boots, but he looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. "I beg your pardon?" he requested archly.

"We've been worried sick about you!" Willow protested, ignoring his request for courtesy. "Buffy called the Council!" She threw herself at him, hugging him tightly and he let himself lean heavily against her.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked him as Willow led him to a seat at the table, both ignoring the three girls that straggled inside behind him.

He nodded, leaning his head into his hands. "I've had some encounters. Things are worse than we thought." He looked at Willow carefully. "Surely you've been feeling it."

She nodded, swallowing. "It's the Hellmouth, isn't it? I haven't gotten close enough to look at its teeth, but it's waking up… That's what's been causing all the weird energy I've been sensing."

Giles' expression was grave and he sighed heavily. "We've got to go home. Buffy will need you." He nodded behind him to where the new arrivals were lingering awkwardly, all three gazing around the farmhouse in fascination. "And they need her protection."

Willow frowned, looking between the girls and Giles. "Protection?" she mused. "They're like the girls Buffy's been dreaming about, aren't they?"

He nodded, taking a grateful sip as Tara brought him a glass of water. "They are," he agreed, waving them over. "Willow, Tara, this is Kennedy, Molly, and Annabelle," he introduced them.

The witches exchanged greetings with the girls, Kennedy leading the way to sit down at the table with them. Willow turned her attention back to Giles. "And, not to sound rude or anything, but what are they? Why are they being hunted?"

"They're slayers, or they have the potential to be slayers," he answered.

Willow and Tara exchanged glances of surprise. "Slayers?" Willow repeated. "But only if Buffy…"

Giles nodded silently. "And Faith."

Tara frowned. "She's in jail, isn't she? Should we warn her?"

Willow shrugged, her own bitterness at the dark Slayer making her laugh. "She should be safe enough, right? I mean, she's in jail!"

"Willow," Tara chided gently. "She's still a Slayer."

Giles nodded. "We should warn her. We may need her before too long."

Tara nodded. "I can call her," she offered, knowing that none of the Scoobies would be eager to contact the rogue Slayer.

Willow gave her a tight smile. "And I'll call the airline and get us some tickets home," she agreed. "Giles, I'm glad you're back. We missed you." She stood up from the table, squeezing his shoulder with one hand. "I know you just came in the door, but you should call Buffy. It'll give her one less thing to worry about."

He patted her hand reassuringly. "She'll worry less once she sees us," he replied tiredly. "Get us on the first flight to Sunnydale."

"Okay," she agreed, waving to the new girls as she followed Tara back to their room. Tara repacked their bags while Willow called and made the flight arrangements. The redhead took up the packing as Tara dialed California and got through to the women's prison where Faith was locked up.

Willow left briefly to fill Giles in on their flight plans, catching Tara's side of the conversation as she returned. "No, we're not sure yet, but I'll make sure you know whenever we do," Tara said, giving Willow a distracted smile.

"And you're really married to Willow?" Faith asked again.

"Yes," Tara repeated. "We really are. Why do you keep asking me that?"

Faith chuckled. "It's just funny. I remember meeting you, giving you a hard time, but I honestly didn't think the two of you would end up married."

"Well, we are," Tara replied again. "You take care, Faith. I'll call soon and check in."

"Cool, and thanks for the heads up, T," Faith answered. "Tell Red that if she hurts you I'll kick her ass."

Tara laughed. "I'm not going to tell her that, but I appreciate the thought. I'll talk to you soon, Faith." They hung up and Willow cleared her throat from the bed.

"What are you not going to tell me?" she asked, smiling tiredly.

The blonde bit her lip, blinking slowly. "Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose if I turn around and tell you?"

"No," Willow replied primly. "I've got the 'I'm your wife' loophole." She grimaced. "And I imagine if it was something Faith said about me it's probably not very nice. I don't want people filling your mind with crap about me."

Tara shook her head, her arms crossed around her middle. "She said if you hurt me, she'd kick your butt."

Willow blinked, grinning unexpectedly. "That sounds fair," she agreed. "Beaten by a Slayer would be a good start to punishment."

"Stop that," Tara chided. "I would never let Faith or anyone hurt you, for any reason. And you'd never hurt me, so it's a moot point anyway."

Willow's grin faded into a soft smile and she extended one hand to her. Tara took it and Willow pulled her in, turning the blonde and pulling her back to sit on her leg. She wrapped both arms around Tara's waist, the blonde covering Willow's arms with her own. "We've got to go soon. We're on a flight in two hours." Willow moved her head as Tara leaned back against her, resting her head against blonde hair. "Sorry our honeymoon's kind of gotten busted."

Tara shook her head against Willow's. "Don't say that. We've been together the whole time, we're going home together, and we stayed in England a full week longer than we had planned."

"And we've been taking care of our…marital duties," Willow added, laughing quietly.

"I'll say," Tara agreed, feeling Willow's fingers moving over her shirt. "I'm more than taken care of."

"And Giles is back. He didn't tell us where he's been, but he's back, so that's of the good," Willow pointed out.

"And he found some of those potential slayer girls, so that's good," Tara added. "And if we're leaving in two hours, we'll be home in the morning." She let out a deep breath. "I like it here, but I've missed sleeping in our bed."

Willow nodded, squeezing her gently before pushing her carefully to her feet. "As much as I love you sitting on me, and I do love it, we've got to get going to the airport." Even as she spoke Giles knocked on their door and Tara picked up one bag while Willow got the other. "Ready to go," she told him with forced cheerfulness.

He gave her a tired but affectionate smile and led the way back down the hall to where the coven witches were waiting with the three potentials. They said goodbye to their friends and agreed to stay in touch, loading up in Giles' car for a silent drive back to the city. The last minuteness of their plans had ensured that they were in separate seats on the flight, but Willow switched seats with a stranger so that she could sit beside Tara, falling asleep on her shoulder once they were in the air.

It was barely six in the morning when they landed, but there was a taxi at the airport so they managed to make it home without having to call and wake anyone up. The consideration proved unnecessary as Buffy was awake when they came in, the Slayer staring at her Watcher in stunned surprise with her hands full as he came through the door. He had barely put his bag down before she was hugging him, dropping her stuff uncaringly. She released him as he coughed and they all looked to the stairs as Xander called down.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Buffy called back. "Will and Tara are home and they brought Giles!" She noticed the potentials and looked at her Watcher. "And some girls I've never seen before. Hello, strange girls," she greeted them, waving. "We had a minor…biting incident upstairs, so I've got to get this stuff up to Xander," she said, picking up her hastily dropped bandages and antiseptic.

"Spike bit Xander?" Willow demanded, following Buffy up the stairs and leaving the others behind in the foyer.

The Slayer gave her a frown, shaking her head. "No, of course not. He bit Andrew."

"Andrew?" Willow asked, confused. "Wasn't he in jail?"

Buffy shrugged. "Yeah, I'm not actually sure how he and Jonathan got out." They entered Dawn's bedroom where the young man was tied to a chair, flanked on either side by Xander and Anya. "He's our hostage now."

Xander gave Willow a tight smile as he knelt down to tend the bite on Andrew's neck and Anya moved stiffly to hug Willow. "Welcome back. I hope you and Tara gave each other many satisfactory orgasms while you were in England," she greeted the witch sincerely.

Willow flushed, patting Anya's back awkwardly. "Oh, um, yeah, it was a great trip. We're glad to be home though. I'm a little confused about what the hell is going on here," she confessed. "But glad to be home nonetheless."

"The short version is that everything is going to hell," Anya summarized, frowning and shaking her head. Willow ran one hand through her hair, sighing. "The longer version is that Spike has apparently been killing again, but we don't know if the chip stopped working, or if there's something else going on, and now he's missing, so we can't even ask him. And we've captured Andrew, but he's proving to be more annoying than helpful because Buffy insists that I cannot torture him properly." The former demon gave her an attempt at a long suffering look. "It's the only proper way to get information," she stated matter-of-factly.

Willow gave her an obviously fake sympathetic smile but Anya didn't notice the insincerity. "And now we have the potential slayers to look out for," Willow added distractedly.

The others all froze, turning to look at her. "The _what_?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You mean those girls that came in with you? They're going to be slayers?"

Willow blinked, nodding. "Um, yeah, from what Giles said. He's being all vague, stoic guy about it though. He hasn't even told us where he disappeared to for the last three weeks." She looked around the room, gaping as she suddenly noticed the hole in the wall between her room and Dawn's. "Whoa! What happened to the wall!"

Xander looked over at the damage, laughing unexpectedly. "You _just_ now noticed that?"

"What happened?" Willow asked again, walking over to look through the hole.

"Spike did it," Buffy answered. "I had him in there tied up and he busted loose and broke through the wall to get to Andrew."

Willow frowned down at the destruction, plaster and dust in the carpet. "Why was Spike in my room? And where is he?"

Buffy shrugged, grimacing apologetically. "Sorry about the wall, but your room had the most space, and you weren't here. I don't know where he is," she said, rubbing at a fading bruise on her temple. "Some ninja monks with no eyes broke in here and took him from the basement." She glanced out the window. "If you guys have Andrew under control, I think I should go look for him. Call me when Andrew wakes up though. We need to know what he's doing back in town and what he knows."

Xander nodded seriously and Anya cracked her knuckles. "We'll scramble him like an egg!" she promised.

Willow felt a small smile crack without meaning to and she shook her head at Buffy. "We'll take care of it," she reassured her friend. Buffy went downstairs and dodged around the lingering potentials, guiding Giles into the dining room to give him a quick update.

Tara watched the other girls look around the house curiously and she cleared her throat to get their attention. "I guess we can put your stuff down in here until we figure out where everyone's sleeping. And I can give you the tour." She met Buffy's eyes as the Slayer started to slide out the front door. "Is everything okay upstairs?"

"Yeah, more or less. Willow's on it," Buffy said. "And sorry about your room. Xander said he can fix it."

Tara sighed as the Slayer was gone before she could ask for details. "Well, this is the living room," she said, gesturing at the room to their left. She led them through to the kitchen and around to the dining room. "And upstairs are the bedrooms. We'll figure out where everyone's going to sleep tonight, but it's a full house up there, so you guys will probably be down here in the living room for now."

"Just for now though," Giles chimed in. "I'll be leaving to find more potential slayers as soon as possible so there will be more girls coming."

Tara took a deep breath, giving him a look. "Are you going to tell Buffy before you disappear again?" she asked.

He gave her a smile, nodding. "I won't leave today, but I will need to leave soon. And there will be more girls coming."

Tara nodded. "I'll tell Willow. I'm sure we can figure something out. Is it something the Council can help with?"

Giles shook his head, frowning. "No, the Council has been destroyed. An explosion." He gestured to Molly. "I took what I could," he said as the girl pulled books from her bag and handed them over. He took a seat on the couch and looked over the research Buffy and the others had been doing. "Tara, you should go put your bags away. We can't do much more until Buffy comes back. I'll contact the Watchers I can, see if there are any girls locally that might join us."

Tara nodded, picking up her bag from the pile just inside the door and carrying it upstairs. Willow was still in Dawn's room and Tara gaped at Andrew tied to the chair. "What is _he_ doing here?" she asked, surprising them all with how angry she sounded.

"Hon, it's okay," Willow spoke up quickly. "We're not sure how he got out of jail, but he's our hostage now apparently. And he knows something, I guess."

"Forgive me if I didn't forget that his friend tried to kill me and shot you!" Tara grumbled, not realizing that her fists were clenched until Willow touched her arm.

"I didn't forget," Willow said softly. "And it wasn't Andrew. It was Warren."

"He's still in jail, isn't he?" Tara asked, crossing her arms around herself.

Willow nodded, standing directly in front of her and rubbing both hands down her wife's arms. "Yes. I promise you. Xander, you checked, right?"

"Yeah," he promised, giving Tara a reassuring smile. "I called the prison. He's still in there."

Tara looked around the room to keep from glaring at Andrew, noticing the hole as she did. "Um…did we need a new door?"

Xander sighed, shaking his head. "Spike punched through it to get to our boy here. I'll try and get it covered up at least if you guys can keep an eye on him." They nodded and Xander got to his feet. "Ahn, could you come help me look for a board or something downstairs?" he requested, trying to save Tara any potential embarrassment if his wife brought up the honeymoon again.

Anya froze at the base of the stairs, studying the new girls cautiously. Xander continued to the basement and Anya cleared her throat to draw their eyes. "All of you girls listen up. Xander is my husband. If you even think about messing with him, I will destroy you," she said, smiling cheerfully as Molly blinked, trembling.

Giles stood up, shaking his head. "Ah, yes. Everyone, this is Anya," he introduced her. "I'm almost surprised to admit that I missed you."

"You'll be happy to know that your money is doing very well," she responded, grinning happily.

He gave her an affectionate smile, glancing down when Annabelle tugged on his coat. "Does she live here too?" she asked, voice concerned.

"No, she and Xander live in town," Giles answered.

"Yes!" Anya chimed in. "Where you girls are far away from his magnificent penis."

Xander came up the stairs just then, freezing with several boards under one arm and a larger piece of plywood in the other hand. "Good morning, ladies," he greeted them, nodding. "Ahn, hon, could you stop scaring our nice guests and help me with this?" he requested. One of the girls giggled and Anya glared at her instantly. "Anya," he called her back, handing her a few boards. "Help me get this stuff upstairs and we can try and wake up Andrew," he offered, knowing the prospect of playing more 'bad cop' would appease her.

He got the wall sealed up between the witches' room and Dawn's while Willow unpacked their things and Tara vacuumed up the mess and Anya paced, eagerly watching for any sign that Andrew was waking up. After she finished unpacking Willow set up a locator spell in an attempt to find Spike, but a scream drew the rest of them to the room almost immediately after she started.

Willow's hair was whipping wildly in the sudden wind, her eyes black and nails dug into her knees as she screamed. Tara got there first but Buffy was a few seconds behind her, appearing almost from nowhere. "Willow! You've got to snap out of it!"

Tara dropped to her knees in front of Willow, feeling the energy crackling around her. "No," Willow groaned through gritted teeth, her eyes flickering between black and green. "Stay back," she growled.

"Concentrate on me," Tara coached gently, rubbing her hands over her legs to keep herself from touching Willow. "Remember what you learned. You can do this, Willow. One thing at a time."

"What was she trying to do?" Buffy asked, pacing as she watched anxiously. It was getting windier inside the room and Willow's groan was high, becoming a whine of pain. The tension snapped suddenly, Willow's body falling backwards and whipped hard into the wall where Xander had just fixed the hole.

"She said she was going to try a locator spell," Tara said quickly, moving to check on her wife.

Willow sat up groggily, breathing hard as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm not! I didn't! I'm not going back to that," she gasped. "If I start…Tara, you have to kill me. Don't let me become _that_ again!" she pleaded, crying as Tara pulled her into her arms.

"Willow, no! You're not going anywhere. I'm not going to lose you!" Tara objected. "I'm with you, no matter what happens."

"Tara, I get so lost," Willow groaned, clinging to her as she tried to catch her breath. They were both aware that Buffy was standing right behind them, but neither could bring themselves to care. The Slayer had been witness to their lowest point already.

The blonde breathed deeply, rocking Willow gently with her lips pressed to her hair. "You'll come back to me. I know you will. And I'll always be here to lead you back."

"You promise?" Willow whispered, both arms wrapped around Tara's. "I know you will, sorry," she apologized before Tara could answer. "I'm better than this. I can do this."

"We know you can, Will," Buffy chimed in. "Just take it slow, okay? The Hellmouth is looking to bite us all in the ass, and probably you more than most people."

"Me? Why me?" Willow groaned, pushing herself up to sit up straight, Tara's hand rubbing her back soothingly.

"You're the biggest mega-witch in town," Buffy reminded her. "And you've already turned you back on the dark. It's going to want to screw with you, get you back."

Willow sighed, glaring up at her best friend. "That was helpful until that bit at the end," she groused, eyeing the wreckage of her spell. "And I didn't find Spike," she said unnecessarily.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, extending both arms to pull either witch to her feet. Willow nodded, still looking around at the scrambled supplies on the ground. "You sure?" The witch nodded again, looking up to meet her eyes. "Good. Giles wants us downstairs for a briefing."

Willow snorted, brushing ash off of herself. "Thanks for the concern," she teased, shoving Buffy's shoulder. "Baby, I'm sorry. You just vacuumed and I messed up the carpet again. I'll do it again after the meeting, okay?"

Tara curled an arm through Willow's, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay."

Willow gave her a tired smile, her fingers sliding through Tara's. "I didn't mean to scare you." She met Buffy's eyes and she nodded toward the stairs. "Scooby meeting," she prompted, nodding her head toward the stairs. "We weren't home until someone said that," she commented. "Or 'apocalypse,'" she added. "Did someone say it and I just missed it?"

Buffy laughed, leading the way. "No, I don't think anyone's said it, but I think it might be applicable. Giles has seriously apocalypt-y face."

"I beg your pardon?" Giles requested as they reached the base of the stairs. The others were already seated around the living room and Buffy grinned unapologetically as she dropped into her seat. "A modicum of respect, possibly? Or maybe even merely an appropriate attitude in deference to the seriousness of our situation?"

Buffy's grin slid off her face and she let out a deep breath, nodding. "I know what it is, Giles. And I'm guessing that you do too."


	7. Chapter 7

"Want to fill the rest of us in?" Xander asked, his arm curled around Anya on the couch. Dawn was next to them and the new girls were scattered around the room. There was only one chair left and Willow gallantly gave it over to Tara, perching herself on the armrest. Tara rested her elbow behind Willow, letting her hand scratch idly across her wife's back while they listened as Giles explained their new danger. One of the potentials was seated on the floor next to their chair and Tara noticed the girl's eyes lingering on Willow but her attention was drawn away as Giles cleared his throat.

"You've faced its minions, its emissaries, before, Buffy," Giles said.

"They're the guys who came after Angel senior year," Buffy stated. "The Bringers, errand boys of the First."

"The First?" Annabelle asked, glancing around at the others.

"The First is the oldest, original evil," Giles responded, cleaning his glasses compulsively.

Buffy sighed, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "They were trying to get Angel suicidal last time. Why are they here again? Why did they take Spike?"

"Maybe they have a thing for vampires," Anya suggested.

Giles stared at her for a second, shaking his head. "Possibly. I'm afraid the Council doesn't have much information on the First. It predates history, is everywhere. The only thing we know for certain is that it wants something here in Sunnydale, and it wants anyone who might be a slayer out of the way."

"So bringing us all here to be murdered is your best idea?" Kennedy spoke up from the floor by Tara's chair.

"I brought you here to the protection of the best fighter I know, and the only person in the world who has a chance of protecting you," Giles corrected her sternly. "Buffy Summers has done more for this world than you will ever know and you'd do well to show her some respect."

Kennedy and the other girls glanced between him and the Slayer, Buffy not looking up from her contemplation of the floor. "Giles, we have to figure out what the Bringers want from Spike." She glanced at each of the others. "Anya, Dawn, could you go keep an eye on Andrew? We need some answers from him too." Dawn huffed at being excluded from the talk, but nodded. She and Anya departed up the stairs and Buffy stood up, pacing unconsciously. "What else do we know?" she asked.

"Well, as you are aware, the First can appear in the guise of people who've passed away," he stated.

She looked at him, expression sober. "That thing that came to Dawnie, that looked like Mom." He nodded sadly and she crossed her arms across her chest. "She still won't tell me what it said. Any chance it was telling her something true?"

He shrugged, his hands deep in his pockets. "I don't know, Buffy. Likely it told her whatever would mess with her head, drive her toward distrust."

The Slayer frowned. "Distrust who?"

Giles gave her a sympathetic look. "As it appeared as your mother, probably you. Possibly myself, or Willow, Xander, those of us she's known her whole life. People she's closest to, more generally."

"Great," Buffy groaned, looking at the floor. Her eyes lifted and she found Tara. "Could you talk to her? She trusts you, Tara. She might talk to you." The blonde witch nodded, giving her friend a reassuring smile. "Just make sure she's okay. You don't have to, you know, tell me what she says or anything."

"I'll talk to her," Tara assured her.

Just then, Dawn herself called from upstairs and the Scoobies were up and moving before the potentials could blink, leaving the younger girls staring after them Andrew was awake when Buffy walked through the door, his eyes widening at the sight of her.

"You're awake. Now, what the hell are you doing out of jail?" the Slayer demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and looming over him.

He looked surprised, glancing around at the others who had fanned out around the room and were watching. "Mistress, you don't remember?" he asked, eyes moving around the room at the others. "Should I talk about it in front of them?"

Anya jumped forward to slap him but Xander was quick to catch her, holding her back. "You'd better talk or I'll tell him to let her go," Buffy threatened him.

"But Mistress…"

"Okay, I don't know where the hell that's coming from, but if you call me that one more time I'll beat you myself," Buffy declared seriously, pinning Xander with a glare when he laughed. "Now, how'd you get out of jail?"

"You did it," Andrew answered. "You appeared before a judge and recanted your testimony about the armored car heist."

Buffy frowned, glancing at Willow. "No, I didn't," she denied. "I didn't do that! I would never do that!" She growled in frustration. "The First," she groaned. "It was the First. It appeared to you as me the same way it did with Spike. Okay, the First got you out, so where's Jonathan?"

Andrew looked around in sudden fear. "You, Mis…"

"What did I tell you to do?" Buffy asked, covering her eyes with one hand.

"He-he, he's dead," Andrew confirmed her fear.

The others let out breaths of surprise, all shocked. "You did it," Buffy stated more than asked. He nodded, shrinking back from her as much as he could. "Okay, you're going to tell me why, and you're going to tell me where, or I'll leave you tied to this chair for the next week."

"I have to pee," he whined and she put her foot on the edge of the chair between his knees. He stared down at her foot as it made contact, yelping as she pushed the chair onto its back legs.

"Pee on my chair and I'll kill you," she warned him sternly. "Tell me what I need to know and I'll let you go to the bathroom."

He glanced at her fearfully, the knowledge that she wasn't the same Mistress that he'd been following apparently sinking in. "Um…we-we were in the high school, in the basement."

"Not that place again," Buffy groaned and Willow let out a deep breath. "What did you do?"

"We dug up…something. Some kind of seal. And then you told me to kill him, bleed him on it." He swallowed thickly. "But nothing happened. Not enough blood."

Buffy leaned his chair back upright, gesturing to Xander. "Let him go pee, then we're going to the school."

Xander nodded, hesitating as he rounded to untie the ropes. "You don't want me to watch him go or anything, do you?" he asked distastefully.

"I have a shy bladder!" Andrew yelped at the same time that the women all grimaced, Dawn chiming in with an 'eww.'

"No, just hang on," Buffy prompted, crouching down in front of Andrew. "You're scared of me, right?"

"Yes, Mistress," Andrew responded automatically.

"Oh hell," Buffy muttered, shuddering. "Moving past that, you know I'll beat you to death for the littlest annoyance, right? Me or any of my friends tell you to do something, you do it, got it?"

"Yes," Andrew said hesitantly.

"And are you going to give me any reason to have to beat you to death?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"No?" he offered.

"Good boy," Buffy murmured, standing back up. "Okay Xand, let him out."

Their hostage raced into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. "If you lock yourself in there and don't come out I'll take the door off its hinges and you won't be getting it back!" Xander warned him through the door. He grinned at the others. "This is kind of fun," he commented.

"You're not taking my bathroom door away," Dawn informed him flatly. "I'm not taking a shower with no door!"

"Of course he's not, Dawnie," Buffy agreed. "Especially not with all these new girls around. The way Giles is talking, any privacy we get from now on should be treasured. Sorry newlyweds," she commented with a smirking apologetic look at Willow.

The redhead blushed but grumbled, her arms crossed over her chest. "The price for saving the world just gets higher and higher," she joked. "The newbies had better just keep their hands off my wife."

"Willow…" Tara chided, leaning back against the wall and trying to hide a smile. She knew she shouldn't encourage the redhead's completely unfounded jealousy, but she couldn't help feeling the tiniest bit of pride that she inspired such devotion from Willow when she'd been told all her life that she wasn't worth anything.

The redhead grinned, giving her a wink from across the room. "Willow's right!" Anya spoke up suddenly in unexpected defense and Willow turned to look at her. "These new girls better not expect to find orgasms from our mates. We have every right to be vigilant!" She gave Willow a supportive nod and the witch had to hide a laugh, nodding back.

Buffy was smiling, her arms still crossed over her chest. "Makes sense," she said dryly. "Cause that Kennedy girl was definitely checking Willow out."

"What?" Willow demanded, her arms falling to her sides. "She was not!"

Tara laughed, covering her mouth with one hand. "Sorry sweetie, but she was," she chimed in. "Not that I can blame her."

"Wha-huh?" Willow questioned. "Should I talk to her or something? I mean, I'm married! And happy! I'm happily married!"

Andrew peeked out from behind the bathroom door just then, Anya dragging him out by the collar of his shirt. "Did you wash your hands?" she demanded, shaking him roughly.

"Yes!" he yelped, and Anya shook him again for good measure. "Are we going now, Mistress?"

"Stop calling me that," Buffy ordered, jerking him along behind her. She stopped suddenly, causing him to run into her back. "Will, after the little incident earlier maybe you should stay here," she suggested hesitantly, giving her a guilty look.

Willow sighed heavily, hands rubbing at the sides of her pants. "Great, now you don't even trust me," she grumbled.

"I trust you, Will. I just don't want the Hellmouth throwing punches at my best friend," Buffy argued. "You already had a long day, traveling back from England and having that spell blow up in your face. And there probably won't be much for you to do down there. I'm just going to take a little tour to this seal and then make a lap looking for Spike, that's it."

Willow sighed again, scuffing her foot against the carpet. "Can we at least patrol, or something? Research, anything?"

"Hey, watch who you're volunteering there!" Anya protested. "We have plans to go home and have sex!" The others, including Andrew, all gave her simultaneous looks. "It's not like there's much to research! There aren't going to be any books on the First evil!" They all just kept staring at her and she groaned. "Fine, we _won't _have sex until later then!" She pointed at Willow. "But if we can't then neither can you two!"

"We weren't!" Willow protested as the eyes turned to her. "And why are you even thinking about us having sex?"

Anya shrugged unapologetically. "If I can't have sex everyone else should just cut it out too!"

Xander raised one hand slowly. "I would like to state for the record that I don't think about you two having sex."

"I know that's a lie," Willow denied, pointing at him firmly. "But we're _done_ talking about our sex life! Research! Now!" she directed, pointing everyone toward the stairs. Tara was blushing brightly, her ears burning. The others trooped downstairs, leaving Willow and Tara alone in the hall. "Sorry," she said, stepping closer to her wife. "That got…awkward."

Tara swallowed, nodding. "Yeah," she agreed hoarsely.

"Hey, you okay?" Willow asked, guiding the blonde's face up with one hand. "You know Anya… She doesn't mean anything by it."

"I know," Tara said, meeting her eyes. "I…you're really okay, right? With earlier and the Hellmouth?" She spoke up again before Willow could. "And I'm not your best friend the Slayer. I'm your wife."

"I know that," Willow responded, taking a step closer to her. "Her rack has nothing on yours," she joked. "Not that I've been looking…" she added uncertainly. "At hers, because at yours, of course I have!"

"Hush now, Will," Tara prompted with a smirk. "And how did we get back on boobs? I want to know that you're okay."

Willow swallowed, nodding. "I can't say I'm not relieved that I don't have to go down there," she confessed finally. "Staying here with you is a much more appealing proposition."

"Willow, you're flirting with me instead of giving me a straight answer," Tara pointed out.

The redhead gave her a teasing smile. "Noticed that, did you?" She took a step closer, leaning into Tara's arms. "It hasn't felt like that in a long time. Before England." She leaned her head forward against the blonde's chest. Tara didn't speak, just combed her fingers through Willow's hair soothingly. "I meant what I said, Tara. Don't let me become _that_ again. Kill me if you have to."

Tara shook her head, holding Willow's head to her. "I told you then and I'll tell you again - I'm _not_ going to lose you, not like that. And I'm not going to make myself a widow." She leaned back to look at her seriously. "I'm going to go, okay?"

"What?" Willow asked in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"Just downstairs," Tara said quickly. "You should take some time."

The redhead let out a deep breath, nodding. "You're right. I need to focus. And you're a distraction of the best possible kind."

Tara smiled crookedly, shaking her head. "You know you don't have to do that with me. Everything doesn't have to be okay all the time. I'm still going to love you if you're struggling, or if you're scared, or tired, or whatever."

Willow nodded again. "I know. I guess it's a habit I've picked up from Xander the last few years, joking in the face of tension. Just tell me to quit it."

Tara kissed her quickly. "I'm going to go now, but you take your time, okay?"

"Okay," the redhead agreed. "Thank you."

Tara shrugged, smiling. "Of course, sweetheart. Love you."

"Love you too," Willow responded, tilting her head to watch her backside as Tara started down the stairs. She couldn't do anything but shrug when the blonde sent her a look over her shoulder as she caught the redhead. "Hey, we're newlyweds!" Willow called in her defense, hearing Tara's laughter in answer.

The others were gathered around the table as Tara joined them and she took a book from the pile to help. After a short time it became obvious that Anya had spoken the truth - there was nothing to be learned in the books. They kept looking however. Their attention was distracted as Molly ran into the dining room where the Scoobies had set up their research.

"Annabelle's gone!" she announced. "We were in there and she got up to get something from the kitchen and the back door is open!"

Xander stood up quickly, groaning in frustration. "Okay, we'll look for her. How long has she been gone?"

"Couldn't have been more than a few minutes!" she answered.

The carpenter nodded, glancing at the others. "Okay, Anya, could you and Willow stay here, keep an eye on the kids?" he asked. "Tara, you mind coming out to look for her? Since Will's busy she can stay here and we'll have a witch covering both groups."

"No, that's fine. Let's go," she said, following him out the backdoor and taking the axe he offered.

They didn't want to split up so they wandered briskly toward town, keeping an eye out for the girl. It wasn't long before they could hear the sound of a fight, garbage cans crashing and someone groaning. A body crashed to the ground as they rounded the corner and Tara had to bite down on her hand to keep from screaming and drawing the thing's attention to them.

It looked to be a vampire, but it was unlike any they'd ever seen in their time in Sunnydale. It wasn't especially tall or broad, but its hands were claws and its head was hairless, and they saw as it turned to look at them that its vampire brow was much more pronounced and horrible than the ridges they had seen on normal vampires. The thing, obviously something more than just a vampire, saw them and growled, rolling its shoulders as it studied them.

Pounding feet could be heard rushing up behind them and Xander pulled Tara behind him as he spared a glance over his shoulder. The vampire lunged in that second, but Buffy was there and she dove as Xander tackled Tara to get them both out of the Slayer's trajectory.

"Get her out of here!" Buffy yelled, rolling across the ground with the creature. "Go!" she shouted when Xander hesitated, the carpenter finally moving to lift the girl, bleeding and broken, over his shoulder.

They both kept looking over their shoulder as they retreated from the renewed sounds of the conflict, Tara finally breaking the silence once they'd made it a few blocks. "She's dead, isn't s-she?"

"No! No way, Tara," Xander protested, voice high. "Buffy's going to be fine!"

The blonde shook her head. "No, not Buffy. This girl, Annabelle. That thing killed her."

"Most definitely," Xander said with a sigh. "I guess we'll have to bury her when we get home." He groaned. "God, I wish that was something I'd never had to say. And she's just a kid!"

"Can I do anything to help?" Tara asked softly. "Help you carry her?" she offered.

Xander shifted his burden on his shoulder, but shook his head. "Thanks, but Willow would kill me faster than I could explain if I let you come home with mass amounts of blood on you." She nodded, biting her lip in indecision and he mustered a weak smile. "And, hey, I need you to watch my back since my hands are full," he reminded her in what was supposed to be a teasing way but fell flat.

"Thanks for jumping on me," Tara said, a tiny smile curling the corners of her lips.

Xander nodded, unable to stop a smile. "Don't ever let Willow hear you say that or she really might kill me," he advised and she shook her head, smiling herself.

"She really did get it from you," Tara observed, glancing at him in the darkness.

"What?" Xander asked curiously.

"The making a joke in the face of tension thing that you all do. You, Buffy, Will, you all do it," Tara answered.

"Tension? What tension?" he joked to prove her point. She laughed, shaking her head. "Is Will okay?" he asked after a moment. "The Hellmouth is really getting to her, isn't it?"

Tara let out a deep breath, nodding. "Yes, but she's staying focused. She's going to be fine," she stated, her confidence in the redhead not shaken by the afternoon's incident.

"She's got you looking after her," he agreed.

"And you," Tara added, hesitating as they reached the house. "Maybe we shouldn't just walk through the front door with a body," she pointed out.

He nodded toward the side of the house. "Get the gate and I'll put her down in the backyard until Buffy can figure out what we're doing."

"She's going to be okay, right? Fighting whatever that thing was…"

He groaned as he put the body down in the shadows at the edge of the yard where no one would glance out the window and risk seeing it. "It's Buffy," he agreed, standing up straight. "She can handle a vampire."

Tara shook her head, both arms curled around herself. "That wasn't exactly a normal vampire, Xander," she pointed out.

He met her eyes in the darkness, nodding. "Yeah, but it's Buffy. She's going to be okay," he said, wishing his voice could sound more convincing.

She moved to hug him, hesitating at the sight of the blood on his shirt from the corpse. "Maybe you should take your shirt off," she suggested.

He looked down at himself with a grimace. "Yeah…" He started to obey, hesitating with one arm inside the shirt. "That's another thing you should never let Willow hear you say to me though. Just as a personal favor."

She nodded, swatting his arm as he wrung his shirt in his hands. "Deal." They both looked up as they heard the commotion in the house, coming through the backdoor a moment later. They could both hear Willow and Giles speaking over each other, questioning the Slayer as she appeared through the front door.

Buffy met their eyes over Willow and Giles' heads, sighing as their expressions told her everything she needed to know. Willow spun to see them, slumping weakly into a chair in relief at the sight of them. "You guys okay?" Buffy asked, curling one arm gingerly to her chest.

"Yeah, we're okay," Xander agreed. "You're looking kind of rough, Buff," he observed. "What was that thing?"

She shrugged, hissing and wincing in pain immediately. "It's a vamp, but nothing like any I've ever fought. And it's still out there." Blood rolled into her eye and she wiped it away with one hand, obviously frustrated. The others exchanged scared glances and she shook her head. "It sort of kicked my ass," she confirmed.

"How'd it go at the school?" Willow asked, looking up at Buffy from her chair.

The Slayer sighed. "There's a creepy seal down there. We buried it again, but Jonathan's body is missing and Principal Wood was down there with a shovel, so we need to keep an eye on him."

"Did you find Annabelle?" Molly asked, nervously interjecting.

Buffy groaned, wiping another stream of blood from her face. "I got there too late," she said regretfully.

"And you're supposed to be able to protect us?" Kennedy asked, the challenge obvious.

Buffy glanced between the two remaining potentials, one hand landing on Willow's shoulder as the witch started to rise to her friend's defense. "I don't know what you think is going on here, but those Bringers, the First, they're not messing around. You _can_ die, anytime. If I'm the only chance you have, maybe _not_ running off into the dark to get killed is a better game plan. I'm the Slayer, and I'll do what I have to do to save your asses, but I won't stand here and get blamed because one of you runs off."

Tara let out a deep breath. "We're all doing the best we can," she interjected softly, feeling the rising tension in the room as Kennedy glared at Buffy.

The Slayer let the moment stretch, growing taut and tense. "I'm going to go dig the first grave," she said flatly. "It's up to you if it's the last one." With that she was gone into the basement.

The others didn't speak, all looking around the room at each other. Anya broke the silence. "Xander, why is your shirt off?" she demanded, glaring at him.

He glanced down at himself, only then remembering that he wasn't wearing a shirt. "Oh, um…there was some…blood."

His wife's frown deepened and she pushed Tara out of the way to get to him, prodding him into a circle to look for wounds. "You're not bleeding," she accused, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It wasn't…" Willow started, rising to her feet anxiously.

"No, not mine either," Tara assured her quickly, giving her a reassuring smile. Willow moved to stand beside her nonetheless, feeling Tara's fingers slide down the back of her arm soothingly. Buffy stomped back upstairs with the shovel and was out the backdoor without a word.

Kennedy and Molly looked at each other and Scoobies before they retreated back into the living room, leaving their elders in the silent kitchen. They could hear the crunch of Buffy's shovel, the Slayer groaning after her beating and the effort of digging. They each knew that the Slayer cared about these girls as more than her latest mission, that Buffy wasn't the cold face she was presenting to them. The girls needed to know though, that first and foremost, they had to follow her orders or pay the price.

Willow curled her fingers through Tara's and leaned back against the wall next to her. "So, what happened?" she asked quietly.

"No!" Anya interrupted. "I want to hear why Xander took his shirt off in front of your wife!"

"It wasn't because she asked him to!" Willow shot back.

"Willow," Tara spoke softly to calm her down. "We just didn't want to scare you guys coming in covered in blood, Anya. That's all."

The former demon took a long moment to consider that, eyes traveling between Willow and Tara's joined hands and Xander himself. She finally nodded, holding one hand out to Xander. "Okay," she agreed. "We're going home now for the makeup sex." Xander gave them an embarrassed wave but let Anya propel him through the front door. Giles picked up the cordless phone and followed them onto the porch.

"She's really got perfect recall about _that_ concept, doesn't she?" Willow asked rhetorically, leaning over to watch them go.

Tara laughed, leaning back against the wall. "She really does."

Willow's head turned to look at her, giving her a careful once over. "You're okay?"

Tara nodded, thumb brushing over the redhead's knuckles. "Just a few little scrapes, that's all."

Willow found one, free hand brushing dirt away from it gently. "You fell?"

Tara shrugged, biting back a smile. "Xander sort of pushed me, but it was to get us out from in between Buffy and the super-vampire."

Willow took a moment to think that over, nodding finally. "Okay, as long as you're okay."

Tara nodded, letting the smile go. "Xander wouldn't just knock me over, you know that." Willow nodded again, distracted by Buffy's steps on the porch. "I'm going to go up and take a shower," Tara said quietly, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Willow nodded without thinking, catching her hand as Tara started toward the hall. "Wait, what?" Willow asked. "Where are you going?"

"Upstairs," Tara answered with a patient smile. "I was just going to give you and Buffy a few minutes to talk."

"Me and Buffy?"

"Yes," the blonde agreed. "Buffy's the leader, but you're second in command. You guys should talk."

Willow blinked in genuine surprise. "Really? Me? Not Giles?"

"You," Tara confirmed. "Besides that though, she's your best friend. Check on her. Make sure she's okay."

The redhead's eyes moved back to the door and she let out a deep breath. "Okay." She returned the kiss on the cheek. "Take your time in the shower and maybe I can catch up?" she offered, rising onto her toes for a real kiss, drawing it out slowly.

"No hurry," Tara whispered back, her fingers playing with the ends of Willow's hair briefly before she took a step back toward the hallway.

The crickets were chirping loudly when she went outside and Buffy was barely visible in the light from the window and Willow took a seat on the step beside her friend. Neither spoke for a long moment, Buffy letting out a deep breath finally. "I hate this, Will."

"I know. What can I do?" the witch asked.

The Slayer shrugged, dropping her head forward onto her crossed arms. "I have no idea what I'm doing, much less what to tell you to do."

Willow leaned her head against the post beside her, breathing quietly into her hesitating pause. "You can trust me, Buffy. I won't let it happen again."

Buffy lifted her head slowly, looking at her in the dark. "I do trust you, Willow." She gave her friend a weak smile. "I'm going to need you with me on this one."

"I am," Willow agreed. "I guess we can assume whatever you fought tonight came out of the seal thingy."

"And when the Bringers didn't get enough blood from Jonathan, they took Spike to open it and let that thing out," Buffy added.

Willow nodded. "I guess we should get him back. He knows too much about us."

"And Dawn would kill me if I didn't at least try," Buffy agreed. "And I think I know at least one place to keep looking. Last time they were here they were holed up in some caves under the Christmas tree lot." She groaned. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of caves under Sunnydale."

"You're not going out there tonight, are you?" Willow asked, relieved when Buffy shook her head, the Slayer rolling tense shoulders. "Good. I'll go with you if you want me to," the witch offered.

Buffy nodded, pushing herself to her feet. "For tonight let's just get some sleep. Giles is supposed to be bringing more girls tomorrow."

Willow followed her, looking around. "He went outside earlier. Do you know what he's up to?"

The Slayer shrugged, rubbing tiredly at her hair and grimacing as the motion pulled a sore muscle in her shoulder. "Looking for more girls. He's back now, I think. I heard the door."

Sure enough, when they returned inside Giles was putting the finishing touches on the knots tying Andrew to a chair in the living room. He straightened up, meeting their eyes. "Are they going to be okay in here?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her chest. He nodded and began pulling Andrew's chair toward the dining room. Buffy took it from him, dragging Andrew behind her as she followed her Watcher. "Did you find anymore girls?" she asked once they were alone in the kitchen, leaving Andrew whining and tied to his chair in the dining room.

"There's one coming in the morning to the bus station," Giles answered. He gave her a considering look. "Perhaps you should get some rest, Buffy. I'll do some research into the vampire you fought tonight."

She nodded wearily, trying to muster the energy to argue. "I'll get the girl from the bus station in the morning," she offered. "Is it just one?"

"For now," he told her seriously, the unspoken caution clear in his voice. None of them should grow too attached to their privacy. And Buffy needed to get used to being the leader sooner rather than later.

"Awesome," Buffy muttered to herself, stomping up the stairs as Tara made her way back down.

Willow had just sat down at the table with Giles, pulling a fresh book in front of her, and she leaned her head back as Tara joined them, pulling another text off the pile. "I thought you were going to bed."

The blonde's hair was wet from the shower and she was wearing her typical sleeping attire of flannel pants and a tank-top. Willow's hand landed on her knee under the table and she smiled. "Buffy looks kind of beat, I figured she'd need the shower. And I knew you wouldn't be up anytime soon," she said, teasing.

Willow grinned sheepishly, knowing that it was true despite any protests she might make. Even if she'd never thought about it, she'd always acted as Buffy's second in command. And staying up late doing research was part of that. "Thanks, Tara. If it makes it any better, you look _really_ good."

The blonde smiled crookedly, shaking her head. "I'm in my pjs, honey."

"Exactly," Willow agreed, grinning. Giles cleared his throat from the other side of the table and Willow dropped her eyes to her book. Tara did the same, biting her lip as Willow squeezed her knee before letting her hand slide off.

It took some time, but they tracked down a few myths of the creature Buffy had faced, a pure vampire known as a Turok-Han. Unlike the vampires they were used to fighting, the Turok were not socialized and had fewer of the weaknesses that their modern descendants possessed. Sunlight and holy water affected them but not to the same degree that it did other vampires, and they had no fear of crosses and needed no invitation to enter a home.

They set aside the research they'd found so they could share it with the others in the morning, each heading to their beds after two in the morning. Buffy's door was closed, but the witches could hear their friend tossing in her bed and Willow hesitated at the top of stairs, trying to think of anything she could say to Buffy to make it better. She followed Tara after a moment, realizing that there was nothing to say.


	8. Chapter 8

The next week's events were rushed, Buffy picking up the new girl at the bus station as she'd agreed to do while new girls were coming from everywhere, quickly filling up the house and making life increasingly crowded and tense. Buffy struggled to find a balance between her job at the school, keeping an eye on the Hellmouth and Principal Wood, and keeping a protective eye on the new girls in her care. She finally had to leave the girls under Willow and Tara's protection in a last ditch effort to find Spike while Anya and Giles went to her demon contacts to try and figure out the First's reason for coming to Sunnydale.

The younger girls spent their time exaggerating stories about Buffy they'd heard from their Watchers, the adults buried in their books at the table. Tara put together simple sandwiches for the group for lunch and called them all into the kitchen before moving back to her seat at the table beside Xander and across from Willow.

Andrew started whining and grumbling as the girls came back into the living room with their lunch and Tara started to get back up, relaxing back into her chair as Willow waved her down. "I'll handle him," she assured them.

Andrew was straining against his ropes and attempted to stomp a foot at her as she came to stand in front of his chair. "I'm hungry!" he whined.

Willow crossed her arms over her chest. "And?"

"You have to feed me!"

"Says who?" she asked. "Cause Buffy never said anything like that to me."

"It's in the Geneva Convention!" he protested. "You have to treat me fairly."

"We gave you a chair," Willow pointed out. "And you don't have the hands free to eat a sandwich. Do you think I'm going to stand here and feed it to you?"

He looked down at himself and around the room at the curiously watching potentials. "You could untie me," he suggested hesitantly, flinching when she unfolded her arms.

Willow realized what he was expecting and snorted with laughter. "Like I'd hit you," she said, backpedaling quickly. "I mean, of course we would if you try anything," she clarified, trying to sound vaguely threatening.

Andrew nodded quickly, sensing an opportunity to maybe be freed from his chair. "I wouldn't try anything! The Mistress…" he paused at a look from Willow. "Buffy…I promised…"

"And she _would_ hit you," Willow reminded him pointedly. "We'll talk about letting you out if you can be useful. Until Buffy gets home, you're on lockdown." She studied him carefully. "I guess we can let you have one hand to eat with," she acceded. "I'll be right back."

She found him a sandwich that hadn't been devoured by the ravenous potentials and freed one of his hands from the ropes. She caught a whiff of him as she leaned over, coughing. "We're going to have to do something to air you out," she conceded. "You're ripe."

Andrew shrugged as best he could, embarrassed. "Well, a shower would help," he suggested hopefully.

"Just eat your lunch," Willow directed. "Buffy decides what we do with you."

Giles and Anya returned from their mission with the news that their efforts to bring Buffy back from the grave had given the First its opportunity for action in Sunnydale. They had broken the Slayer line doing what they'd done, and the First was taking its chance to bring down the entire thing.

Buffy stopped in quickly in the afternoon when Giles called her to tell her that he'd received word that there was another potential locally. She and Xander went by the motel to pick her up only to rush home a short time later to reveal that one of the girls that had been talking with the others was really the First masquerading as the murdered potential.

The other girls made no attempt to hide their lack of confidence in the Slayer after this latest failure, the most vocal protestors arguing at the table. Willow was leaned against the wall across from Buffy, and she cocked her head toward the kitchen as she met her best friend's eyes. Buffy nodded, heading that way without speaking, her movement doing nothing to distract the potentials from their arguing. Xander twitched as Buffy touched his arm on her way out of the room but he, Anya, and Dawn followed her without question. Tara hit the stopper at the base of the door to give them privacy, their exit entirely unnoticed.

"Okay, here's the deal," Buffy said immediately once the door swung closed, cutting off the noisy chatter behind them. "I have to kill the uber-vamp thing. Now. And I need them to see me do it or I'm going to lose them."

The others met the pronouncement with silence, Willow crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you thinking, Buffy?"

"I'm going out, I'm going to find it, and they're going to watch me kill it," she stated. She slumped slightly. "That's all I've got so far."

Willow couldn't stop a small smile and she nodded, leaning forward on her elbows at the kitchen island. "Okay, well, I can try a locator spell," she suggested. The others didn't speak immediately, but all eyes turned to her. "I can do it," she reiterated.

"Thanks, Will," Buffy said, meeting her eyes straight on. "So how about we find it, get it to follow me somewhere where you have the potentials lined up as an audience?" she suggested.

Xander nodded. "Okay, but how are we supposed to get them to leave the house? I mean, they're all kind of big fraidy cats for the most part." He cut his eyes at the door. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm _so_ glad you're the Slayer and not any of them," he commented.

"Agreed," Willow murmured, giving them both a smirk.

"They're new, guys. Cut them some slack," Buffy prompted. "They're stupid and judgey, but they're new."

None of the others could hide grins, even Tara let a small smile slide onto her face. "I think I know of a place that will work if we can get them to it," Xander offered.

Buffy nodded, leaning back against the counter. "Okay, so maybe we should have the uber-vamp follow me here," she suggested.

"Here?" Dawn questioned. "That thing will destroy our house!"

"It won't be here long," Buffy reassured her. "Just for show and then we'll go."

"Um, I doubt even you can convince it that it's just for show," Xander said hesitantly. "We might need a more solid plan than hoping it won't break in."

"Will?" Buffy questioned. "Anything you can pull out of the hat?"

"Is that a bunny reference?" Anya demanded. "Because I've seen pictures of people pulling rabbits from hats! Vile little bunnies hiding in wait inside hats and waiting to lunge out and hop all over everything!" She shuddered, glaring at Willow distrustingly.

Willow laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not going to pull a rabbit out of anywhere, Anya. Don't worry. I think I might be able to come up with something to keep the house sealed up. Just give me a little bit to work it."

Buffy nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Okay, so that's the plan. Where's our second location, Xand?"

"The library construction site. It's big, open, and the juniors will be out of the way while you're handing out the ass whooping," Xander answered.

She grinned, shaking her head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I just wish it was going to be that easy."

Xander sobered, nodding. "Okay, well what's next?"

"Will, how long to get the mojo running?" Buffy asked. "Don't worry about the locator spell, I can just run around town and find it."

Willow gave her a distracted smile, already working it out in her brain. "Give me half an hour," she said finally. "I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Buffy nodded, giving her a strained smile. Willow glanced at each of the others and went quickly down into the basement. The rest of the group rejoined the still bickering potential slayers. Tara only lingered for a few minutes before she was excusing herself to the basement.

She was quiet on the stairs, but Willow still cracked one eye open, smiling slowly. "Did they send you to check on me?" she asked without malice, just curious.

"No," Tara disagreed, taking a seat in front of her wife. "I came down here to meditate. I'm no good to you if I'm not focused."

Willow's other eye opened. "No good at wha… Tara, no," she stated firmly as she figured out her intentions.

"That word doesn't really work here, Willow," Tara commented. "You can't just tell me 'no.'"

"You're my wife!" the redhead protested.

"Exactly," Tara interjected. "I'm not letting you do this alone." She pinned Willow with a look as the redhead started to argue. "Honey, this is not about having faith in you. We all do. This is about the simple fact that we're stronger together. You know it."

Willow swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath. "I do. I depend entirely on it," she said hoarsely.

Tara didn't speak, just arched an eyebrow at her and settled into her position. Willow stared at her for several long moments before her eyes slid closed again and she narrowed her focus. She could feel Tara's energy stabilizing her own, their fingers sliding naturally between the other's. It took less than one heartbeat before they synchronized, hearts beating at the same time, the timing of their breaths perfectly in sync.

They opened their eyes after a short time, both smiling slowly. "Ready, baby?" Tara asked as Willow helped her up, pausing in her move toward the door as the redhead caught her hand. "Will, what?"

"We can't go into a fight without a kiss for good luck," Willow reminded her, biting her lip.

Tara laughed, letting Willow pull her back. "That's very true," she agreed softly, feeling Willow press closer. "Good luck, Willow," she whispered, lips brushing against the redhead's.

"Good luck, Tara," Willow breathed back to her before she captured her wife's lips, drawing the kiss out slowly. She gave the blonde a reassuring smile as they separated. "Let's get this done."

Tara nodded, brushing one hand through Willow's hair. "I agree." They started up the stairs and Tara squeezed her hand. "Do you think after all this all is over, we could go somewhere, be alone?" she requested.

Willow gave her a smirk over her shoulder. "You mean you're not loving living with ten teenage girls?" she asked sarcastically.

"There are twelve now," Tara corrected her. "And, no, I'm not. Especially since we ran out of floor space yesterday and any new girls are going to be on our floor."

Willow blinked, pouting instantly. "Darn," she murmured. "That means you're changing in the bathroom, right? Behind a locked door where those little perves can't see you?"

Tara laughed as they reached the kitchen. "That means it'll take an extra hour to go to bed," she pointed out. "The line to the bathroom is getting longer every night."

"Laughing is a good sign, right?" Buffy asked as she entered, carrying the latest round of dirty dishes from the dining room. "Means I'm not going to die, doesn't it?"

"Buffy," Willow and Tara chided her simultaneously. The three exchanged grins, the Slayer joining in on their laughter.

"Are we good to go?" Buffy checked.

"Yeah," Willow agreed, and they all looked over as Xander called from the living room.

"Um, Buffy, I don't think you'll have to look too hard for the uber-vamp," he said, leaning over the back of the couch to look out the front window.

She frowned. "Uh, that sounds vaguely ominous," she said, interrupted by a crash against the front door. "Okay, I think I get the picture." She glanced over her shoulder. "Will, Tara, you guys ready?"

The witches nodded, Tara guiding the younger girls back into the living room as Willow's hands rose to chest height, a shimmering wall of energy rising with her arms. Her shield was just in time as the front door smashed open, Buffy barely jumping back in time to miss the rising energy.

"Are you guys good?" she called over her shoulder, watching the vampire lunge at the shield.

"Yeah," Willow said, hands trembling as she held the wall steady. Tara stepped up beside her and slid her hand into Willow's, easing the redhead's shaking. "Got it."

The wall stayed solid as the vampire attacked again. The potentials were watching in horror, all eyes locked on the creature. "Buffy…" Dawn called, nudging her sister.

"Yeah, okay. You guys go. Xander, lead them out the back," she ordered, giving her sister a subtle nod and reassuring wink.

Dawn and Xander had to push at the last few potentials to get them moving, and Buffy watched the witches carefully. "Will, you alright?" she checked once the potentials were out of hearing range.

"Yeah, it's not going anywhere anytime soon," Willow said, still out of breath in spite of her reassurances.

The Slayer nodded, clapping her on the shoulder. "Thanks, but after they get a minute or two of head start, we need to get you two out of here."

"Are you going to be alright?" Tara asked.

"Yeah. I'll be right behind you guys. I'll just give it a distraction while you two get caught up to the others," Buffy said, watching her enemy pace and growl on the other side of the wall. "Ready to run?"

Willow squeezed Tara's hand, meeting her eyes. "Ready when you are," she stated, waiting for her wife's nod. "Okay Buff, wall's coming down in ten seconds," she warned.

The Slayer started her own mental countdown, bouncing on her toes and leaning forward toward the field. The vampire sensed its opportunity coming and leaned forward itself, claws swiping at the wall. "Now," Willow shouted, the protective shield flickering. Buffy lunged forward, grappling the vampire to the ground.

Willow hesitated, not eager to run off and leave Buffy to fight alone. "Go," Buffy shouted, groaning as the vampire landed a hit. Tara pulled Willow back. "Willow, go! I'll catch up!" The vampire managed to toss them over, but Buffy planted both feet in the creature's middle and kicked it across the room to smash into the wall.

Willow finally moved, leading Tara through the hall and out the backdoor. There were more crashes behind them, but they were a block away before Buffy's steps could be heard echoing theirs. Xander was waiting for them at the base of the lattices on the construction site and he helped Tara start climbing before he gave Willow a leg up. He had just joined them out of harm's way when the Slayer rushed in, the uber-vamp hot on her heels.

The girls were all watching and Buffy knew it, but she could only focus on not getting killed. The vampire hit her square in the back and she slid across the concrete, hitting hard against a pile of pipes. She wondered absently how much this fight would cost Xander's crew before she gave it up and whipped one of the pipes around her, the blow knocking the Turok-Han back. She swung the pipe to the ground, dropping the bent and broken metal as she lunged on the offensive.

The vampire took a few shots to the jaw before it tossed her off, Buffy spinning through the air and rolling across the ground to crash into the base of the lattice the others were all standing on. A few of the girls let out squeals of terror as it trembled under them. The Turok-Han looked up in horrific curiosity, jumping clear over Buffy and beginning to climb toward the easier prey. The girls that had weapons clung to them a little tighter, all shaking in fear. The Scoobies maintained their calm, leaning against the railing and watching the proceedings without fear.

The Turok-Han didn't make it more than a yard before Buffy was there, a leap swiping the vampire off the lattice and sending them both crashing hard to the ground. Buffy snatched up a broken two-by-four and drove it into the primordial vampire's chest, leaning on it when he didn't dust as readily as normal vampires. The creature was growling and clawing but its motions were slower and weaker every second and Buffy collapsed forward as the monster finally disintegrated, the board all the way through its chest.

Buffy pushed herself to her feet, brushing dust and blood off of herself. "Showtime's over, children," she said seriously. "I'm the Slayer, those are vampires. Stronger than most, but still vampires. Do what I say and I _will_ protect you."

The girls were looking around at each other and at their leader, fresh respect dawning. "Yes, ma'am," one of them agreed finally, breaking the silence that hung heavy over the construction site.

Buffy nodded, dropping the two-by-four. "Xander, Dawn, get them home," she directed, turning without another word. A few minutes had her back in the caves under Sunnydale. She wondered as she searched if the caves she was searching were connected to the caves Adam and the Initiative had been using. A flickering of torches ahead of her told her that she was finally in the right place, and she found Spike chained to a stone.

He flinched from the sight of her, instantly in game face. "Do your worst, you bitch!" he growled. "Where's your doggy? How you gonna make me bark without your pet?"

She sighed heavily, leaning over and slapping her fingers lightly against his cheek. "It's me, not the First."

He slumped against the chains as his face relaxed. "Thank God," he groaned. "What took you so long? Don't take this the wrong way Slayer, but I'm not normally this excited to see you," he admitted.

"Yeah, me too," she agreed, looking around for a rock. Two smacks had the chain free from the rock and he looked surprised when she tugged him along behind her without freeing his hands from the manacles. "Yeah, right," she said, scoffing. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you go until we've figured out what's going on with you."

He grumbled, but followed her home, not protesting when she chained him up in the basement. She found a jar of pig's blood in the fridge for him and joined the others in the dining room. Typically, Xander was already arguing for staking him, Dawn in his face yelling.

"Okay, cool it!" Buffy barked, drawing their eyes. "We have to do something about Spike, but I'd rather not stake him unless it's necessary. Does anyone have any alternate ideas?" she asked, taking a seat at the table.

The others were quiet, each thinking. "Stake him, Buffy," Xander spoke up, unable to keep quiet.

"Not yet," she insisted.

"Why not?" he demanded.

She rose to her feet to face him. "Because he's a good fighter, and we're staring into the mouth of the apocalypse…again. We might need him." She squared her shoulders. "But do not doubt that I _will_ kill him if there's no other way. I won't let him kill again."

"Hey, wait," Willow spoke up. "I might have an idea." The others looked at her and she shrugged. "How about the curse?" she suggested. "It's not like I've never done it before."

Buffy blinked, surprised. "That could work, if Spike would ever go for it."

Willow grimaced. "Oh, yeah. I doubt he'd go for the 'no perfect happiness' thing."

The Slayer rolled her eyes. "Especially if he assumes, like everyone else does, that he can't have sex again."

Xander frowned and Anya's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, 'can't have sex?'" Anya demanded. "I was a vengeance demon for a thousand years and I never did anything _that_ horrible to anyone!"

"Angel can't have sex _ever_?" he questioned. "Maybe I was too hard on the guy."

Buffy glared at him, muttering under her breath. "He can have sex," she disagreed. "Just not with me. Anyone else he wants though."

"Oh," Xander realized. "Yeah. Well, I'm sure he's _not_," he offered reassuringly.

"Just shut up," Buffy requested, retaking her seat. "Will, is there any way to take the curse part of it out of it?" she asked. "That might make it easier for him to be convinced."

Willow shrugged, glancing at her best friend. "I can try," she promised.

Buffy nodded, pushing herself back to her feet. "I'm going to go talk to him, present the deal."

"Which is what, exactly?" Dawn asked for clarification, protective over the vampire who had watched over her for so long.

The Slayer sighed, meeting her sister's eyes. "Dawn, I don't _want _to kill him. But he's been killing again, and the chip might be malfunctioning." Dawn just crossed her thin arms over her chest. "So, he either gets his soul back, or he stays locked in the basement with the understanding that if he makes one speck of trouble, I stake him."

Willow spoke up again. "It's going to take me a while to get the spell worked out, if I can even do it," she reminded them.

"Okay, that's fine," Buffy agreed. "There's likely to be a lot of yelling before he actually listens to the idea, anyway."

"Very true," Anya agreed. "Who wants to be mystically castrated?"

Buffy let out a growl of frustration. "That's not what it is!" she protested, grabbing Dawn's shoulder and pulling her along. "Come on. Then you'll know I'm not threatening him."

They could hear the girls in the living room, Willow leaning on her hand as she tried to think through the ensouling spell. The phone rang in the living room, and Willow started to move to answer it, but Xander stopped her with a shake of his head.

He returned after a few minutes, sitting down at the table with a sigh. "Giles," he answered their unspoken question. "He said your coven friends might have a lead on some more girls, but he thinks it might take a day or two to track down the info."

Willow nodded wearily. "Okay, fine. We'll add it to the list of things we've got going on." Her voice was tired and rough, her exhaustion obvious.

Tara stood up abruptly, one hand under Willow's elbow pulling her to her feet. "We're going to bed," she prompted. "Good night everyone."

Xander cleared his throat hesitantly. "Don't forget you guys have company tonight," he reminded them, recoiling from Willow's glare. "I think we're going home."

"Good night," Willow growled at him. As she pushed open the door to their room, she eyed the line of sleeping bags on the floor of their room reluctantly, glad to see that their bed was empty. "Good," she muttered. "At least we don't have to kick anyone out of the bed."

"Come on," Tara responded, pulling her by the hand into the bathroom. The counters were covered in spare toothbrushes and cosmetics belonging to the new girls. Willow was swaying on her feet, tired beyond her realization. "Shh," Tara breathed as Willow started to speak, sliding the buttons through their slots on the redhead's shirt. Willow leaned her head down to watch her wife's progress, letting out a deep breath as the shirt slid down her arms, leaving her in a tank top and her jeans. Tara started to drop it into the hamper in the bathroom, but it was already full with the potentials' dirty clothes.

Willow smirked, hanging the shirt over her own shoulder. "What now?" she asked teasingly. The lights were dim around them in deference to the girls that were already sleeping and she kept her voice low to accompany the lighting.

"Pants, off," Tara stated. "And then you're going to bed."

Willow looked down as Tara guided her pants off. "And you're coming with me, right?"

"Of course," Tara agreed, smiling almost shyly. "Sorry about the company. I'll help you with the soul spell thing tomorrow. Or locating that new potential. Anything you need me to do," she promised.

Willow nodded, her hands slipping under the edge of Tara's shirt. "I can think of a few things you can do for me…to me."

"We have two teenage girls sleeping on our floor," Tara reminded her, shaking her head reluctantly.

Willow growled in her throat, fingers sliding into the back of Tara's hair. "Stupid potential slayers. Don't they know we just got married?"

Tara laughed quietly. "Actually, I'm pretty sure they don't. They're a bit focused," she said. "Thankfully not on us though."

Willow nodded, letting out a deep breath. "That's true," she admitted. The bathroom was cramped and cluttered, but it was dark and quiet and she didn't want to leave it just yet for the snuffling snores of scared teenagers. Tara didn't speak, just let her stand in her silence, waiting for her to make a move. Finally Willow let out a yawn, smiling sheepishly. "Bed time, I guess."

Tara nodded, leading her out of the bathroom. The girls on the floor were dark lumps in the dim light coming through the window. The bed squeaked as they climbed in, Willow pulling Tara's arms around her waist and squirming herself into the curve of Tara's body. "This is how every day should end," she whispered, feeling Tara's nod against the back of her neck, her lips pressing a kiss behind her ear.

"It really is," Tara agreed softly, settling more snugly against Willow as they drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Willow double checked her ingredients again, running both hands across the tabletop. "Okay, I think we're ready to do this," she said, giving Tara a smile.

"Okay," the blonde agreed. "You've got it, Will. Easy."

Willow grinned as Tara winked at her. "I've got it?"

"Yep," Tara responded. "Nothing my girl can't do."

Willow blushed, undeniably pleased. A few of the potentials wandered in to watch, curious about the witches. "What's it going to do?" Kennedy asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Of all the girls, she was the most capable physically, and the most eager to get her powers, so it was a mystery to Willow, if to no one else, why she was still at the house instead of out with Buffy.

Willow cleared her throat, working it through again in her head, checking everything again. "I combine these two ingredients and when I finish the incantation a light will lead us to the new girl," Willow answered.

Tara took a step back from the table as Willow nodded, her fingers flexing against the table as she started the spell. Willow had herself braced for an attack as she worked, but none came and she relaxed, letting her magic flow and feeling Tara's power stabilizing her own, joining with hers naturally.

The blonde turned as there was a knock on the front door, moving to answer it as Willow finished her casting. The golden light blossomed in front of her and hesitated before shooting across the room to strike Tara, smashing her into the door and glowing in the center of her back.

Willow was on her feet in an instant. "Oh, _hell_ no!" she said fiercely. "This is _not_ happening!"

"Willow?" Tara asked, confused as she turned, the light fading away slowly.

"No! My best friend is the Slayer. It can't have you too! No, no way! Go upstairs, get your stuff. You're leaving town," Willow protested, shaking her head.

"I can't leave, Willow!" Tara argued. There was another knock on the door, Dawn opening it behind them.

"What was that?" she asked. "Some weird light just hit me."

Willow slumped weakly into a chair, dropping her head into a hand. "Oh God," she groaned. "It hit you too?"

Dawn frowned between the witches. "Tara?" she questioned. "It hit you too?"

The blonde shrugged. "It hit the door. I was on one side, and I guess you were on the other?"

The teen nodded, crossing thin arms over her chest. "Yeah, me and a girl from school. I guess she ran off."

Willow leaned forward, wrapping both arms under her knees. "Thank God!" she breathed. "It has to be her, right? Not either of you." She took a shuddering breath, wondering absently if she was going to hyperventilate. "Buffy's going to kill me if it's Dawnie."

"Willow," Tara prompted. "I'm more than happy if it's not me or Dawnie, but if it is this other girl, we need to find her."

Willow sat up, nodding with her eyes still wide and wild. "Yeah, you're right, of course."

Dawn was looking around. "Where is Buffy anyway?"

"She had work this morning," Willow said. "And she took some of the girls to Willy's after work." She checked the time quickly. "Xander should be home. He can help us look for the new girl."

"Amanda," Dawn supplied helpfully. "Is someone going to stay here with the girls?"

Willow considered, finally shaking her head. "No, they missed the field trip. They can at least get a patrol under their belts," she reasoned. "Gear up and we'll go," she ordered, giving them a gesture. Kennedy was quick to obey, leading the others to Buffy's weapon chest.

Xander found them as they were searching downtown, though finding no sign of their goal. He split off to get Buffy from the bar and agreed to meet them at the high school, the only place they hadn't searched yet.

Willow was distracted as they searched, her eyes continually drawn to Tara and Dawn. The blonde noticed and let the potentials take the lead as they searched the ground floor of the school, keeping the girls carefully away from the basement. "Honey, you have to stop worrying about this," Tara said quietly. "You'll make yourself crazy."

Willow stopped walking abruptly, holding tight to the blonde's hand. "No, Tara! No way. I won't let this happen. You're not a Slayer!"

Tara shook her head. "I know you're worried, but it could be Dawn or Amanda," she reminded her. "And there's nothing you can do if it is me."

Willow scowled, shaking her head in denial. "It's not you, Tara."

"Hey." The blonde drew Willow's head up with a hand, holding her wife's chin firmly. "It might not be me. And even if it was," she started, Willow whimpering over her words, "_even_ if it is me, I wouldn't be the Slayer unless something happened to Buffy _and_ Faith. And nothing is going to happen to either one of them."

Willow swallowed thickly, nodding. "Yeah. You're right. Buffy's going to be fine."

"Faith too," Tara reminded her. "I talked to her this morning. She's fine."

There was a slamming door around the corner and the potentials froze, looking to the witches for guidance. Willow dropped Tara's hand, moving to the front of the crowd and pulling her stake from the back of her belt.

She peeked around the corner to see a vampire trying to push open a door. A running crash sent it flying open and Willow ran forward with a muttered curse. The girls were quick behind her and the vampire hesitated as it realized that its prey wasn't going to be as easy as it had hoped. "Amanda?" Willow called, her stake ready as she faced off with the vampire, feeling the others fanning out behind her.

The younger girl poked her head up from behind a lab table hesitantly. "Yeah?" She noticed Dawn and waved, smiling hopefully. "Hey."

"Hi," Dawn responded, grinning weakly. "Hey, how about you grab that flagpole behind you," she suggested, pointing. The vampire growled, looking around the group in confusion, trying to decide which one looked like the weak point.

Amanda frowned, confused but she obeyed, taking the flagpole unsteadily from its stand. "Now what?" she asked.

"Break it so it's easier to use," Dawn advised. "If he runs at you, stab him."

"Stab him?" Amanda asked. "Won't that hurt him?"

Willow laughed anxiously. "Ideally it'll kill him if you hit his heart," she said. "Amanda, this might be hard to believe but this is a vampire."

The vampire itself spoke up then, scowling at her. "I wish you wouldn't talk about me like I'm not standing right here," he complained. "It's rude!"

"We're going to be really horrible when we kill you then," Buffy chimed in, walking forward calmly, a nonchalant smile on her face. The rest of the potentials were behind her and they scattered themselves around the room with Willow's group. "Will, you found the girl? Is this her?" Buffy asked, one hand on her hip as if she didn't have a care in the world.

The witch laughed shakily, shrugging sheepishly. "That's what I'm hoping," she said. Buffy gave her a questioning look and Willow grimaced. "Right now we've got three possibilities." She shrugged again. "The spell went a little wonky," she admitted.

Buffy laughed, ignoring the frustrated growl the vampire gave. "Wonky? Will, how bad could it have gone?"

"It hit Dawn," Willow answered, wiping the Slayer's smirk away. "And Tara."

"Oh," Buffy said flatly. "Yeah, that is wonky," she agreed. "So our money is on this girl?"

"Amanda," Dawn supplied helpfully.

Buffy nodded, glancing over her shoulder at her sister. "Okay, Amanda, let's see what you've got," she prompted, gesturing.

It took Amanda two tries to break the flagpole against the edge of the lab desk, the vampire glaring around the room at the circle of young women surrounding him. Xander's yell from outside the room drew their attention. "Buffy! We've got Bringers out here!"

Buffy was moving quickly. "Will! Stay with them!" she directed, shouldering her way through the crowd to back up Xander. One of the Bringers got past her, sending the girls scattering and screaming. The vampire retreated as well, backing straight into Amanda, who staked him with impressive enthusiasm.

Buffy fought off the Bringer that had attacked Xander and spun to catch the second by the back of his robes, hauling him bodily backward. Willow muttered something and twisted her wrist, blasting the other one back but sending her flying in the other direction at the same time.

"Willow!" Tara yelled, helpless to stop it but drawing Buffy's attention.

"Xander, get Will out of here!" the Slayer directed quickly. Two quick blows had the last Bringer stumbling away from her with its mouth bleeding. "Potentials, with Dawn," she ordered, one push with her arm clearing a path for Xander to get to the unconscious witch. He scooped her up into his arms and was out the door, Tara quick on his heels.

Buffy took out her frustration on the Bringer under her hands for a few more moments, letting the others have time to escape. The Bringer that Willow had blasted was unconscious, the other captive under the Slayer's blows. She dropped the unconscious body after it went limp against her hand and chased after her friends. She doubted another group of Bringers would attack that night, but there were still the typical vampires all over town, their activities encouraged by the ever increasing energy from the Hellmouth.

They made it back to the house safely, Xander carrying Willow directly upstairs to their room. Tara checked her over carefully while the carpenter went to make up an icepack for the knot that was already rising on the back of the witch's head from hitting the wall. He was stopped quickly as Kennedy appeared in the doorway with one, the potential slayer pushing it into his hands.

Tara took it and set it carefully against the bruise, smiling distracted thanks at the lingering potential. It had become obvious to everyone but Willow that the dark-haired girl was interested in her, but they were all too busy for it to be any concern to anyone. After Oz's departure from Sunnydale Tara had never had any doubts about Willow's feelings, her fidelity never in question.

The redhead stirred with a groan, but didn't wake up. Her eyes were shadowed, bruised, but her breathing was steady and deep. Tara rested one hand on Willow's, her lover's power jumping in response to her touch. Willow mumbled her name, her head tossing toward her. Tara stretched out her own abilities gingerly, reading Willow's aura carefully. There was an unpleasant darkness lingering at the fringes of her mind, but even as she lay there Willow's unconscious mind was rejecting them, pushing the darkness back.

Tara let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, meeting Xander's eyes. "Thanks," she said softly, surprised her voice wasn't shaking.

"Yeah," he said hoarsely. "Is she…she's okay, right?"

Tara nodded. "Yes. She'll be fine. She's just recovering."

He glanced to where Kennedy was watching, the younger girl moving out of Buffy and Dawn's way as the Summers sisters entered.

"How's Will?" Buffy questioned, slumping in visible relief at Tara's nod.

"She's going to be alright," Tara assured them all. "Are all of the girls okay?"

Buffy waved off the question, nodding. "Yeah, sure. Willow blasted the Bringer before it could get to them."

Kennedy spoke up then, her arms crossed over her chest. "She shouldn't have done that. Those Bringer guys are just people, right? We could have taken him."

Buffy eyed her, shrugging. "Willow can take care of herself _and_ you, don't worry," she advised the potential with an edge in her voice.

"How come she's laid up like this then?" Kennedy demanded, leaning back against the wall of the witches' bedroom.

Buffy sighed, looking at her old friend sadly. "The Hellmouth. It does stuff to her. I guess the First didn't like her fighting its Bringers." Her eyes moved to Tara. "Is she going to wake up soon?"

Tara shook her head. "Not really. An hour, maybe two." Buffy hesitated, glancing between Tara and Dawn. The blonde witch caught the look and cracked a tiny smile. "What is it, Buffy?"

"If you could spare the time, maybe you could take a look at Will's spell? Double check that Amanda's the girl and not either of you? I mean, I love you both, and I'd love to work with you, but I'd rather not have Willow out for my blood if you're a potential."

"Wouldn't she be trying to protect you harder?" Dawn pointed out with a laugh. "I mean, Tara's safe as long as you're alive."

Buffy shrugged. "I'd just rather it be neither one of you," she stated. "Tara, could you check it out?"

Tara pushed herself to her feet with a nod, biting back a smile. "Okay," she agreed, glancing down at Willow helplessly.

"I'll stay with her," Xander assured her, sitting on the edge of the bed at Willow's knees.

"Thanks," Tara said, giving him a grateful smile.

* * *

Willow was groggy as she woke up, her fingers twitching against the sheets of her bed. She touched soft hair and she combed her fingers through it unthinkingly. "Tara?" she breathed, her head turning as the head under her hand lifted away from her.

"I'm here, sweetie," Tara assured her, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead. "Shh," she whispered, holding Willow still with a hand on her chest. "Don't move, okay? Your nose is bleeding again."

"Huh?" Willow questioned dumbly, still pushing against Tara's restraining hold. "What?"

"Be still," Tara told her, voice soft against the redhead's ear and the redhead went limp immediately. "Let me go get a towel."

Willow felt Tara give her a quick kiss, the taste of blood as she licked her lips driving in a realization that she was bleeding. The memories of the attack swam into focus and she groaned, shifting against the pillows she was propped up against. Tara's half of the bed was still made up but the room was dark, the potentials asleep in their blankets on the floor. Tara had apparently been sitting in a chair beside the bed and the redhead frowned, pushing the blankets back as the blonde returned with a damp cloth.

Tara leaned close, dabbing blood from Willow's face carefully. Willow held still dutifully, licking her lips again as the blonde finished, stroking over her wife's face gently with the pads of her fingers. "Are you feeling better?" she whispered.

"Thirsty," Willow admitted, voice hoarse and her throat dry.

"I'll be right back," Tara said immediately. "Just get comfortable."

Willow nodded, squirming down deeper into the blankets. Tara was back quickly with a glass of water. "Not comfortable yet," Willow stated, voice deliberately coy. "Lonely."

Tara gave her a smile, shaking her head. "You know what that voice does to me. I can't resist it."

"I know," Willow admitted devilishly. "Now, get in here," she prompted, pointing firmly to the empty space beside her.

"Do you need anything else?" Tara asked considerately, handing her the glass.

Willow gulped down the water quickly, not realizing fully how thirsty she was until she had finished the glass. Tara started to move and get her a refill only to be stopped by Willow's hands. "Tara, I'm fine now. Promise. I just want some snuggles," she said. "Please?"

The blonde moved back to her, brushing her hair back gently. "Are you sure?"

"About that? Always," Willow stated, smiling tiredly. "How come being unconscious makes you sleepy?" she complained as Tara slipped in beside her, guiding her head down gently.

"I don't know, love. Go to sleep if you're sleepy though," she coaxed softly.

The next time Willow woke, the potentials that had been sleeping on their floor were packing up. Tara wasn't there when she turned over but she appeared just as the redhead started to push herself out of the bed.

"Don't you move," Tara directed her, holding a tray in both hands. "It's not breakfast in bed if you get up."

Willow rolled back into the bed, grinning cheerfully as she sat up. "For me? You're the best!"

Tara put the tray carefully on her wife's lap, catching her lips before pulling back. "You're welcome," she breathed with a slow smile. Willow held up a piece of toast for Tara to take a bite.

"What's going on today?" Willow asked curiously, drinking her orange juice while Tara picked up the strewn mess that had been spreading throughout the house since the potentials' arrival.

"Giles is taking the potentials to the desert for the same vision quest thing Buffy did," Tara answered, smiling fondly to herself as she found a t-shirt of Willow's in the mess. "Something about letting them feel their connection to the Slayer powers."

"So they're going to be gone all day?" Willow asked, suddenly sounding excited.

Tara nodded, distracted by her cleaning. "I think so," she agreed, only looking over when she heard Willow's dishes clattering as the redhead hurriedly put her tray on the bedside table. "Aren't you going to eat your breakfast?" she asked, unable to hide the teasing tone, knowing immediately what her wife was thinking.

"It'll reheat," Willow said, crawling over the blankets to get to the foot of the bed and where she could reach Tara. She pulled on the blonde's wrist insistently.

"Actually, it probably won't," Tara said with a laugh, resisting Willow's tugging. Willow whimpered, pouting at her. "Okay, I know you're excited to finally have a minute alone, but I'd rather not get walked in on," she reminded the redhead. Willow let her go to lock their door, the blonde coming straight back to her.

Buffy heard the door shut upstairs and bit back a smile. With all the new girls around privacy had become a distant memory. She wasn't going to begrudge Willow and Tara their alone time. An eyebrow lifted as Kennedy came down the stairs, one hand on her chest as she coughed. Buffy didn't speak, just watched the potential slayer check in the kitchen before joining her in the living room.

"Looking for Willow?" Buffy asked dryly, not looking up from sharpening a sword on the couch.

"No," the younger girl said unconvincingly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring stubbornly.

"Yeah, right," Buffy agreed sarcastically. "Listen, I know Willow's great and all, but you need to get over that pretty obvious crush of yours sooner rather than later, okay?" She glanced up at the dark-haired girl. "Believe me, she's the only one who hasn't noticed. And Tara's too much of a sweetheart to ever say anything to you about it, but Willow's taken. Like, _forever_ taken." Buffy leaned over to inspect her blade, testing the edge against her thumb.

Kennedy let out a deep breath, glaring at the floor petulantly. "People break up."

Buffy snorted, shaking her head. "Believe me. Those two aren't going anywhere. Give it up before you get hurt," she advised.

"Is that a threat?" Kennedy asked incredulously.

Buffy looked up at her, laughing. "No," she answered. "Willow can be oblivious about some things, but she won't lose Tara again."

"So they _have_ broken up before," Kennedy stated triumphantly.

The Slayer nodded, putting her sword carefully to the side. "Yes, but believe me, there were circumstances. It's not going to happen again." She stood up to put the sword back in the weapons chest and selected an axe to work on next. "I'm not trying to hurt you here, I'm just giving you some friendly advice. Willow's married and it's going to stay that way."

The younger girl didn't speak again, just pulled a weapon from the chest and stomped into the backyard to practice. Buffy shook her head with a laugh as she resumed her work. The house was quiet through the early afternoon, a rare event in the last few months.

Their peace was broken by a scream from the basement a little before sundown. Dawn was in the basement with Spike, and Buffy kept hold of the sword she had been sharpening as she tore to her sister's aid. Dawn was trying to keep the thrashing Spike from falling off his cot and Buffy got in between them rapidly, one hand holding Spike down firmly.

"What did he do?" she demanded.

"He's hurt!" Dawn protested.

Buffy relaxed her hand slightly. "Spike! What's wrong with you?"

Spike's back arched as he screamed, both hands holding his head. The sisters exchanged looks, both shrugging. "The chip," the vampire groaned.

"Did he hurt you?" Buffy asked, frowning at Dawn.

"No!" she insisted. "We were just talking and he kind of slumped over and started screaming."

"Could the chip go off without him triggering it?"

"I don't know! Ask Willow," Dawn said, rushing back toward the stairs to get the witch herself. "Willow!" she called as she bolted upstairs.

Buffy let Spike sit up as he patted her hand twice, breathing hard even though it was unnecessary. "Are you alright?"

"The chip," he groaned again. "It was firing like I bit a baby and was sucking them dry," he said, ignoring her grimace at his choice of image.

"But you didn't hurt Dawn?" Buffy checked.

"I never lifted a hand to the little bit and I never would," he stated, giving her a glare. "It's the chip. It's going wrong."

Buffy sighed, sitting back on her heels and letting him sit up. Willow and Dawn joined them, the teen stomping her way to sit beside Spike and handing him a glass of water. "Problems with your chip?" Willow asked. Spike gave her a glare, nodding and grumbling under his voice. "Do you have any documentation? Any plans I could look at?" she asked.

He shrugged, leaning back against the wall and bending his knees up in front of him. "That bloke Warren, he did some checking for me last year, but I don't know where the pages got to," he confessed.

Willow sighed, nodding. "Okay, well that's a start, I guess. Do you remember anything about what he did?"

He growled, looking up at her. "No, and why bother with this! The chip's gone haywire, but you lot aren't just going to pull it out of my head, so why bother like you want to fix me? Just put the stake through me and be done with it!"

Dawn protested even as Buffy shrugged. "We could put your soul back," Willow suggested into the tense moment, looking at Spike.

"I'd rather be staked than impotent, thanks _so_ much," he declared.

"That's not what it is!" Buffy grumbled.

"And I fixed it," Willow interjected quickly.

Both Buffy and Spike froze, the Slayer swallowing thickly. "What do you mean, 'you fixed it?'" she asked, voice hoarse suddenly.

"The curse is gone," Willow answered. "I still had all of Miss Calendar's notes. I've been working on it and I finally got the curse part out of it. I can put your soul back without you running the risk of losing it again later."

"Permanent?" Buffy asked, brutally forcing down thoughts of Angel and making herself stay focused on the immediate needs. They needed Spike for his abilities as a fighter, and he needed a way to stop the chip from frying his brain at regular intervals. Her eyes traveled to him. "Spike?"

He was frowning, thinking it over. Dawn was fidgeting, but she kept from touching him. "Been helping you lot for a while now. It might feel good to finally get some trust," he groused, unable to resist poking fun at Buffy. "And it would really chap Angel's ass if he wasn't the only soul-having one," he reasoned. "Don't know if it's worth it, though. I do enjoy being evil. I miss it terribly."

Buffy groaned, slapping one hand to her forehead. "Spike…your options are soul or staked. Evil is not on the table."

Dawn finally reached over and touched his hand, drawing his eyes to her. "Spike…" His blue gaze flickered between the sisters, and he nodded, swallowing thickly.

"I'll do it. Lay it on me," he stated. Before Willow could move though, he was on his feet, leaning against the limits of his chains. "Wait," he stated as if she was going to do the spell before he would be able to reconsider. "I want your bird to check it out. Trust her more than you lot."

"Tara?" Willow questioned, frowning. The vampire had never had much contact with the blonde witch and she wondered now that he was putting his fate in her hands.

"Yeah," Spike agreed, nodding. "She's the wholesomest one of your little Scooby club. She would tell it to me straight if you lot were trying to screw old Spike over!"

Willow and Buffy exchanged amused smiles, the witch nodding. "Okay," she agreed. "And just so you know I'm not trying to trick you…" She moved to the base of the stairs but didn't go out of his eyesight. "Tara, hon, could you bring those papers on the kitchen counter down here please?" she called up the stairs.

Tara joined them after a moment, looking at the group curiously. "These?" she checked, extending the papers to Willow.

The redhead threw her hands into the air without touching the pages, gesturing to Spike. "Would you mind reading over those and assuring Spike that the curse is gone?" Buffy asked, her arms crossing over her chest as she tried stubbornly to squash her own selfish hopes.

"Oh…yeah," Tara agreed slowly, glancing at Willow before she started reading. After a few minutes she looked up, giving Spike a nod. "The curse is gone," she told him. "I promise."

He looked conflicted, simultaneously relieved and anxious, but he nodded, swallowing thickly. "Okay, lay it on me," he said hoarsely.

"It's not that easy," Willow said. "I need some things from the shop."

"Oh, thank God," Spike gasped, dropping back onto his cot. His relief was short lived as the chip triggered again, sending him into a painful spasm. There was blood trickling out of his ear when he managed to sit up, and Dawn was quick to retrieve a towel for him, letting him wipe the side of his face.

Buffy nodded her head toward the stairs and Willow nodded back to her. "Tara, want to go on a field trip with me?" she asked, biting her lip and waggling her eyebrows playfully.

"Someone's relaxed," Buffy commented without thinking, biting her tongue as Willow blushed brightly. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just meant…sleeping in agrees with you," she tried hopefully.

"Sleeping without snoring teenagers in the room agrees with me," Willow corrected her.

Dawn snorted from her seat beside Spike. "Right, because you two were _sleeping_ this morning?" she asked incredulously. "And you expect us to believe that?"

Spike laughed weakly. "The lovebirds are busted. Everyone's horny because of the brats making us all crazy. Have we covered all the pertinents? Can we make progress on getting this bleeding chip out of my noggin?" he requested, only noticing as he finished speaking that the others were all staring at him. "You can't tell me you're not horny," he stated, knowing which part of his statement they were reacting to. "Now, pressing business, ladies," he reminded them, waving the witches back toward the stairs.

Willow gave him a nod and glanced at Tara with a smile. "Okay, we're going," she assured him.

The town was as oblivious as ever to everything that had been going on, and Willow insisted on stopping at the Espresso Spot for some coffees. The redhead was practically skipping as they left the shop and Tara laughed, taking a sip of her drink. "Buffy was right. You are very relaxed today," she observed happily.

"Thanks to you," Willow agreed cheerfully, grinning and waggling her eyebrows. Tara pushed at her head with a laugh as they turned the corner and entered the shop.

"You two are cheerful," Anya greeted them. "And since the girls are gone, I'm going to assume that meant that you have had many satisfactory…"

"Good evening, Anya!" Tara interjected over anything else the former demon might say. "We're here to buy some things." She knew the prospect of getting some money would distract her friend even from theorizing about their sex life.

"Excellent! What do you need?" Anya asked, rounding the counter. Willow rolled her eyes but listed off their ingredients. "That sounds like an ensouling curse."

"It is," Willow agreed. "Without the curse part."

"You're giving Spike his soul now?" Anya demanded even as she collected what they had requested. "Why is that a good idea?"

"It's either that or kill him," Willow told her. "His chip isn't working right. It's going to kill him if we don't do something." Anya gave her a doubtful look and Willow shrugged. "He agreed to it! As long as I took out the curse part."

The former demon shrugged, bagging up their items. "I say let him die, or stake him," she advised. "But money is money. Good luck."

"Thanks Anya," Willow said, surprised by the genuine response from the shopkeeper. Spike had had another attack by the time they got back to the house and they could hear him screaming from the basement as soon as they opened the door. Buffy was on the phone as they entered and she hung up with a frustrated sigh.

"Who was on the phone?" Tara asked as she helped Willow sort the ingredients out on the table.

"Hopefully the Initiative and _not_ just a florist shop boy who now thinks I'm insane." Buffy watched their preparations curiously, having never seen Willow cast this particular spell. "Don't you need to set it up in the basement?" she asked before remembering suddenly that the witch had been miles from Angel when she'd put his soul back. "Never mind."

"Is Spike ready?" Willow asked.

"As he'll ever be. The attacks are getting worse," Buffy said, and the witches could both hear the tension in her voice. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, there was something in the Slayer that cared for the vampire.

"Okay, well give me ten minutes and Dawnie and I'll be ready to go," Willow told her.

"Dawn? Why do you need Dawn?" Buffy asked, watching Willow grind something into a bowl.

"She needs to wave these herbs," Willow answered, pointing at to the supplies. "Tara…"

"I'm on chanting," the blonde supplied, shaking her head with a laugh. "Got it."

"Unless you wanted to wave," Willow offered, smiling sweetly at her.

Tara swatted her with the bundle of herbs and picked up the lighter. "Chanting is fine."

"Cool, well, I'll go get Dawnie," Buffy said, brushing her hands down the sides of her pants nervously.

Dawn was back after a minute, looking much more worried than her sister. Willow calmed her down by explaining what she needed the teen to do, her voice steady and confident. "Trust me, Dawnie. I could do this one blindfolded." She gave her friend a reassuring smile. "So doing it with my eyes open is a piece of cake."

"What if the Hellmouth messes with your mojo?" Buffy asked hesitantly.

Willow swallowed, shrugging. "I'll get it done," she promised. The Slayer nodded and Willow closed her eyes, the spell having become familiar again after working on it in her spare time to remove the gypsy curse. She started her part, hearing Tara start her recitation at the proper time. The darkness struck suddenly, her eyes shooting open, deep black.

"Willow!" Buffy called nervously, glancing at Tara quickly. The blonde shifted the book so that her free hand could reach Willow's shoulder.

"I've got it," Willow grated through gritted teeth. Sure enough, the orb of Thessulah started glowing, rising from the table slowly. Dawn finished her recitation and Willow's head snapped back, her face toward the ceiling. She screamed as the energy barreled through her but the orb faded away and she slumped as the spell ended, starting to slide out of her seat before Buffy caught her.

"Willow!" the Slayer called, Dawn looking torn between checking on Spike and staying with Willow. Buffy heaved Willow back into her chair, the witch holding one hand to her head as she shook it in an attempt to clear it.

"Ow," Willow muttered, touching her lip tentatively as she tasted blood. It seemed that she'd bitten the inside of her bottom lip badly during the spell. Tara leaned forward with a quickly retrieved tissue and wiped blood away from her nose. "Great," the redhead grumbled. "Freaking Hellmouth. Why won't it just leave me alone?" she asked hypothetically, knowing the answer already.

Tara retrieved an ice cube next, holding it to Willow's lip until the redhead sucked it in, using her tongue to hold it against the cut inside her mouth. "Thanks, baby," she tried to say, the words coming out muffled as the ice melted rapidly.

"Can you walk?" Tara asked tenderly. "You don't need to swallow that bloody water."

Willow nodded, pushing herself shakily to her feet. Buffy and Tara caught her together as she wobbled. "You alright, Will?" Buffy questioned anxiously. She was reminding herself that Willow's struggle against the Hellmouth wasn't a slight on Willow's abilities, but really a statement of how frightened the First really was of the witch. She just wished she didn't have to see her best friend take a beating every time she did anything to help. She knew too that Willow was too stubborn to give up the fight.

Willow nodded, leaning on them as she limped toward the kitchen to spit out her mouthful of blood. Kennedy came in as Willow was leaned over the sink, her nose dripping again. "What happened to her?" she asked, ignoring Buffy's look in her direction.

"The Hellmouth likes to take potshots at her," the Slayer answered. "Dawn, can you check on Spike? Stay back though until you can tell if it worked or not," she cautioned. "You'll be able to tell."

Dawn nodded, grateful for the dismissal. "Willow, are you okay?" she asked before she left. The redhead was spitting out more blood but she stuck one thumb up into the air over her head, drawing a weak laugh from everyone.

Tara collected a damp towel and coaxed Willow's head up. "Let me see." She dabbed the blood away from Willow's nose, the redhead holding the towel to her face as Tara's fingers gently pulled her lip down to check the cut. "It's bleeding again," she sighed. "Do you want some more ice?"

Willow checked the towel under her nose, shrugging. "It doesn't sting right now. You could kiss it better," she suggested, smiling impishly and then grimacing when it pulled on her sliced lip.

Tara couldn't help smiling fondly, but she shook her head. "Maybe later," she said. "I'll get you that ice."

Willow dutifully sucked on her ice cube without complaint, spitting out the pink-tinged water after a few minutes. Dawn scrambled back upstairs, one hand already out for the keys to Spike's cuffs. Buffy hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Dawn, I'm not sure we should let him out. Not yet at least."

"What? Why? He's got his soul now!" the younger Summers protested.

"Yeah, but the chip is still hurting him," Buffy reminded her. "And we're not even sure if the chip was what was letting him kill all those people. I think he was being triggered. And just because he's been fine for the last few days, there's no way to know when it will happen again." She gave her sister a serious look, finally sighing. "He can come out but _only _when I'm here." Her eyes shifted to Kennedy. "And the girls stay out of the basement without me," she directed firmly.

Kennedy nodded, her arms crossed over her chest. "Got it."

Willow finally noticed her presence and frowned curiously, dabbing at her bleeding nose again. "Weren't you sick?"

Kennedy blinked and hit herself on the chest, coughing unconvincingly. "Uh, yeah, I'm feeling better."

"What are we going to do about the chip?" Dawn demanded, slapping one hand against her leg to draw attention back to her.

"I called and left a message for Riley," Buffy said. "At least, I hope I did. I might have just been convincing another person in this town that I'm an insane person." She grimaced. "You know how Riley feels about Spike, though."

"They did it to him! They have to fix him!" Dawn argued.

"He's still dangerous, Dawn," Willow pointed out. "No matter what has happened to him."

"So we're still going to just sit here and let him die? He has a soul now!"

"We know, Dawn," Buffy said softly, glancing at Willow. The teen wilted slightly as she saw how pale Willow was, the witch hanging onto the counter with one hand.

"We have to help him," she insisted, but her voice was quieter.

"We will," Buffy promise. "I'll take him to the Initiative complex tonight, okay? Maybe we can find something. We'll figure something out."

Dawn nodded, satisfied. "I'm going to go sit with him," she stated, daring Buffy to say anything. The Slayer stayed quiet and Dawn went back down into the basement without speaking again.

"You think the Initiative left something that could help?" Tara asked, frowning slightly.

Buffy shook her head, shrugging. "I doubt it, but she's right… he's got his soul now. And they probably didn't expect him to last this long. It's not his fault." She took a deep breath. "We did the right thing, didn't we? Putting his soul back?"

Willow and Tara exchanged glances, the redhead nodding. "I think we did. Xander and Giles might not be happy about it though."

Buffy groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, well there's nothing they can do about it now. His soul is permanent. I'll talk to Giles once he gets home from the desert."

Tara nodded, looking sideways at Willow. The redhead was leaning against the counter, but her nose had finally stopped bleeding and she was playing with the cut inside her lip with her tongue. Willow noticed her looking and stopped quickly, grinning sheepishly. "Well, what's next?" she asked.

"I'm going to wait for dark and take Spike down into the Initiative, and I think you, my friend, are about to be planted on the couch," Buffy answered, giving Willow a smile.

The redhead looked between her wife and her best friend, slumping with a sigh. "Fine," she grumbled. "I'm not useless though."

"We know that, Will. You just put someone's soul back while trying to avoid being sucker punched by the mouth of Hell," Buffy reminded her. "Take a night to deal, okay?"

Willow nodded, taking a deep breath. "You're coming with me though," she declared, pointing firmly at Tara.

"Deal," the blonde agreed with smile, sliding one arm around her waist.

Buffy gave the witches a smirk. "You'll keep an eye on her for me, won't you, Tara?"

"Of course," Tara agreed, glancing down at her as Willow leaned her head against her shoulder. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get you back in bed." She started to lead Willow from the kitchen, walking slowly and supporting her.

"I love when you say stuff like that," Willow said, her voice tired but happy.

Kennedy watched them go and Buffy cocked an eyebrow at her. "Get the picture?" the Slayer asked simply.

The potential nodded. "Tara's pretty much the only woman in the world to her, isn't she?"

"Yep," Buffy agreed. "Exactly." Their eyes locked and Buffy gave her a smirk. "And I'm straight, so don't go falling in love with me next, kid," she advised, heading downstairs to check on Spike for herself.


	10. Chapter 10

The Initiative had gotten in touch with Buffy and given her the decision about whether or not to remove Spike's chip, so after discussing it with Giles, she'd agreed to having their medical team remove the chip. Spike was still being restrained in the basement until they figured out if anything was triggering him to kill without remembering it. Of course, with his freshly restored soul, he was giving Angel a run for his money on brooding and didn't seem to mind that he was chained to a wall in the basement for hours everyday for weeks.

Buffy was maintaining her job at the school and trying to balance it with her ever increasing crowd of potential slayers that looked to her for guidance, training, and protection. She was at her desk in the school outlining training drills absently when Principal Wood took a seat in her cubicle. She pushed the pages out of sight as quickly as subtlety allowed and gave him a distracted smile.

He didn't speak, just gave her a smile of his own. "Um, can I help you?" she asked, hating the uncertainty in her tone. She'd been suspicious of him since they'd run into each other in the basement with shovels, each obviously lying through their teeth. She knew why she'd lied, but she wouldn't trust him until she knew what he'd been hiding.

"I wanted to ask you to go to dinner with me," he blurted suddenly and her jaw dropped. He gave her another charming grin, laughing. "I could be optimistic and hope that's a 'yes,' but I'm going to have to hear it."

She hesitated, nervous for some reason she didn't want to look at too closely. "Uh, is this a work thing?"

"No," he answered, obviously amused. "It's a date thing."

"Oh," she blurted, swallowing. "Okay."

"Well, don't feel like you have to," he said. "It's not like I would fire you because you didn't want to go out with me."

"No, it's fine," Buffy said. "Dinner would be…nice."

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," he joked, standing up. "I'll meet you at the corner of Main and Pine at seven?"

"Sure," she agreed, swallowing thickly. She waited until he was out of earshot before she reached for her phone. Willow answered on the third ring, the witch stepping out her class to answer. "Will, I need you."

"What's wrong, Buffy? Where are you?" Willow asked, already working out how long it would take her to run to the school.

"Oh, oops, sorry Will. I guess what I meant to say was 'I hope you're not doing anything this afternoon because I need your help.'"

"What's going on, Buffy?" Willow asked, confused.

"I have a date," the Slayer answered. "Or something. A date-like something. I need clothing help!"

Willow laughed, shaking her head. "Um, Buff, maybe you forgot who you called, but you're the fashionable one. I go more for comfort and cuteness."

Buffy laughed, feeling more relaxed suddenly. "Well then, maybe I just want my best friend's opinion. I mean, you are an old married lady now…"

"You could ask Xander," Willow teased back, waving as Tara's class down the hall let out. "Hey you," she whispered as the blonde joined her. "Buffy, I'm out of class so I'll be home when you get off work. I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Willow," Buffy said, hanging up.

Willow hung up her phone as well, greeting Tara properly with a kiss. "Hey, you think I look alright, don't you?" she asked, looking down at herself. "I mean, you'd tell me if…"

"Will, I think you look great," Tara interjected as she sensed a ramble coming. "What's this about?"

"Buffy's got a date, or some approximation of a date, and she's a little panicked about what to wear, I guess," Willow explained.

"And you were wondering if I liked your clothes?" Tara guessed, raising an eyebrow at her.

Willow scuffed a foot along the floor, ducking her head in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess so."

The blonde couldn't restrain a laugh, covering her mouth as the hall started filling up with more traffic as the lecture rooms around them started emptying. Willow pouted as Tara laughed, the blonde catching her hand as she started back into her empty classroom to collect her schoolbag from where it had been abandoned when her phone went off. "Willow, come on. Don't be mad," Tara said, still giggling helplessly. "Of course I love how you look. You're sexy and adorable and gorgeous."

"You can't be sexy _and_ adorable," Willow argued, shoving her book back into her bag. "They're mutually exclusive!"

"Not everyone can be both," Tara agreed, trying in vain to school her expression to serious. "You pull it off though." Willow leaned over to pick up a pen she'd dropped and Tara pressed herself against the redhead's back, curling her arm around Willow's narrow waist. "What's this about?" she asked, pressing a kiss to the skin behind Willow's ear as the redhead stood back upright.

"Buffy said we were an old married couple," Willow said, voice barely audible.

"Honey, _you_ called us an old married couple. On our honeymoon," Tara reminded her, struggling not to laugh again. "Willow…" She turned the redhead in her arms so their eyes met. "I do like your clothes. And I love the way you look. And do you know what else?"

"What?" Willow asked, curious as she realized how silly she was being.

"As much as I love your clothes and how you look in them, I love the way you look out of them so much more," Tara whispered, leaning in so her lips were at Willow's ear. Willow swallowed thickly, breathing suddenly shaky. "Can we go home now?" Tara requested. "Are you still insecure-girl? Because I can help with that."

Willow shook her head wordlessly and Tara straightened up to give her a smile. The blonde was still holding her hand and she led the way back down the row of seats toward the door. Willow was surprised when Tara stopped them just inside the classroom door and spun them to press the redhead into the wall. "One more thing," Tara murmured, leaning in and capturing her wife's lips thoroughly.

Willow reacted instantly, dropping her bag to the ground and letting her fingers slide into the back of Tara's hair as her mouth dropped open, her wife taking immediate advantage and letting her tongue glide in to duel Willow's. Willow whimpered into the kiss and Tara pulled back slowly, both breathing hard.

Willow blinked blearily after a few moments, dragging her eyelids open. "Wow," she breathed. "That was…unexpected."

Tara smiled crookedly, combing her fingers through Willow's hair. "Not bad unexpected though, right?"

"No, definitely not bad. Good, very good!" Willow said quickly. "Just a little…rare these days."

Tara let her hand slide down, thumb brushing over Willow's lips. "That's true. I'm sorry. Privacy is at a premium at the house lately."

"Well, maybe we should get out of the house more," Willow suggested hopefully. "Would it be too midlife-y to have a weekly date night?"

Tara laughed, hugging her wife happily. "We're not even twenty-five, sweetheart. I don't think midlife-y is something we need to worry about yet. I think a date night sounds like a great idea though."

Willow grinned cheerfully, the expression fading slightly as she remembered all the pressure and responsibilities waiting for her at home. "I'll figure something out. I promise," Willow assured her. "And no matter what, I promise you, there will be more kissing like that."

Tara nodded against her shoulder, unable to resist turning her head to press a kiss to her neck, lingering with her lips against the freckled skin. "I could get used to that. Might even get spoiled by it."

"I'd love to spoil you like that," Willow agreed, grinning again. "We should probably get home before Buffy's head explodes."

Tara laughed, stepping back and letting Willow free from the wall. The redhead picked up her bag and took Tara's hand. She was surprised to realize that her knees were trembling and she gave the blonde a shy smile. "Little shaky," Willow confessed. "It's been too long since you kissed me that way."

"We'll just have to do better," Tara reminded her.

"Oh, believe me, it doesn't get much better than that," Willow said, grinning over her shoulder as they left the school building and started across the grass lawn.

Buffy was home when they came through the front door, the Slayer pacing back and forth in front of a basket of laundry. "I used to be good at this! What happened?" she complained. "And what took you so long?"

Willow and Tara exchanged glances, Willow speaking up while her cheeks burned brightly. "We were kissing."

Buffy blinked, surprised by the Anya-like bluntness. "Oh, well, good, I guess," she offered, shrugging. "Good kissing?"

"Always," Willow agreed, grinning brightly. "Now, no more details for you! Let's deal with your wardrobe, shall we?" She pulled Tara to the couch with her and selected a top from the laundry basket on the coffee table. "Ooh, this is cute!"

Between the three of them, with minor input from Dawn, they picked an outfit that was treading the line between professional and casual since Buffy wasn't sure what Principal Wood wanted from her or what he was up to in the school basement with a shovel.

He was waiting for her on the arranged corner and he offered her his arm. She took it with only a moment of hesitation.

"So, where are we going to dinner?" she asked, glancing around as he guided her off the main streets. Her Slayer senses were alert and she sensed a trap as the alley got more narrow. Her suspicion was confirmed as two vampires strolled out of the shadows in front of her.

"Great," Buffy sighed, dropping his arm and moving forward. "Come on, "she challenged, waving them forward, knowing there was no way she could get through the encounter and escape drawing his suspicions so she advanced into the fight.

She couldn't have been more surprised when Wood stepped up beside her brandishing a broken broom handle. The vampire in front of her lunged at her then, distracting her from Wood's apparent knowledge of vampires' existence. It quickly became obvious that he knew more than just that vampires existed, but also just how to fight them.

The fight was brief but violent, Buffy holding onto her stake as she faced the principal. She let it spin against her palm and he smirked. "You know that thing won't kill me," he commented, dropping his own weapon.

"You'd be surprised what I can do with this," Buffy shot back. "What's your deal?" she asked cautiously. "Was this supposed to be a trap?" She looked around at the dust that was still settling to the ground, her fingers tightening around her stake. "Because it didn't work."

He shook his head, both hands held up in supplication. "You're the Slayer, right?" he asked, sounding almost excited.

Buffy's eyes narrowed, instantly suspicious. "What do you know about Slayers?"

"My mother was one," he stated. "In New York. Obviously, she died or you wouldn't be here."

Buffy was still not convinced, her eyes studying him. "Stand still," she directed firmly, stepping forward and jabbing him with her stake. "Okay, so you're not the First. You might be on the level," she conceded.

"The First?" he questioned, confused.

The Slayer sighed, gesturing for him to follow her. "Come on. It'll be easier to fill you in at the house." She paused. "Wait, I mean, you didn't really want to go to dinner, did you? Because I'm thinking that you only asked me out to figure out that I'm the Slayer…"

Robin gaped at her, gesturing to the restaurant. "I…um…the restaurant is right there," he said, pointing to a pretty door at the back of the alley.

"Oh," Buffy said, embarrassed. "Well, we can… I actually don't really have time to date anyone right now," she finished. "I'm a little busy trying to stop the Hellmouth from swallowing us all whole."

He nodded, expression serious. "I agree."

"So, instead of dinner, how about you come over and I'll show you our operation?" she suggested, glancing around the deserted alley.

They didn't speak as they walked back through town, both edgy and uncomfortable. "I've got something for you," he spoke up suddenly. She just looked at him and he cleared his throat. "I just mentioned it because I think it should have gone to you a long time ago, but I couldn't let it go, and it's at my apartment…which is right over there," he said, pointing. "So, if you wouldn't mind waiting, I could go get it…"

She shrugged, still not trusting him. "Okay. I'll wait." Her voice was cool, her posture guarded. "Let's make this quick. If you know anything about this town, you know it's not safe to linger outside after dark."

He gave her a nod, pointing again. "Okay. I'll be quick." He was gone then, leaving her on the sidewalk. He took almost fifteen minutes to come back to the street, his expression unreadable.

"Hey, are you okay?" Buffy asked, frowning at him.

He swallowed, voice hoarse as he spoke, "Do demons ever tell the truth?"

The Slayer shrugged. "I guess. I mean, if they think it'll rattle you, yeah?" A frown crossed her lips. "You got attacked by a demon? That was the quietest fight ever!"

Robin shook his head, eyes locked on the floor. "No, not an attack…it was…my mother." His eyes lifted to her, haunted and anxious. "She spoke to me."

Buffy's arms crossed over her chest. "What did she say?"

"She said…she said, she told me who killed her," he answered. "Do they ever tell the truth?"

"Did you touch her?" Buffy asked, still frowning as she tried to think it through.

"What? No. Why does that matter?" he demanded.

"Because that wasn't a demon," Buffy answered. "And it wasn't your mother either," she said quickly, cutting off his suddenly hopeful expression. "It was the First. It's the big bad we're fighting this year. It can appear as people who have died, but it can't take physical form." She pinned him with a look. "Now, who did she say killed her? Why would you need to know that now?"

"She said it was a vampire named Spike," Wood answered, looking confused by everything she'd said. "It wasn't her though, so how did it know?"

Buffy gave him a sympathetic look as she sighed heavily. "I don't know. It appeared to my sister. It came as our mother. It told her things to try and hurt us." She hesitated. "But I know why it told you about Spike."

He scowled at her. "You almost sound like you know him."

"I do," Buffy stated, facing him straight on. "He's been bouncing in and out of town for years. More recently, he's been living in my basement for four months." She grimaced. "We even…well, never mind that part, actually."

Robin was in her face immediately, anger sudden and palpable. "He _lives _with you?"

"Just for a while now. He used to live in a crypt downtown, but then he was in the school basement and it was making him crazy!" Buffy shoved him back. "And I'd appreciate you _not_ getting in my face. I'm still not entirely sure I'm trusting you. What it boils down to is that Spike has his soul now, so he's all broody and not taking showers and it's really stinking up my house. Your mom died a long time ago, and the demon that killed her is gone and never coming back, so leave him alone!"

"He killed my mother!" Robin protested.

"And the demon enjoyed it," Buffy said. "But Spike, who he was before he was turned, _he_ didn't. And that's who he is again. His soul, we put it back and now he's just like you or me."

"That _thing_ is nothing like me!" Robin growled, getting in her face again.

She shoved him back. "I told you I don't like that. Get in my face again and I'll show you how much," she warned him sternly. "I get it if the Spike thing is a deal breaker for you, but I'm still going to keep an eye on the school, even if you don't like it. The Hellmouth is ready to bite us all in the ass and I'm going to be ready for it."

Buffy gave him a long look before she turned and resumed walking back toward her own house. It only took a minute before there were steps echoing hers, the taller man's longer legs easily catching up to her.

"I'm in," he stated.

"Okay, but I don't have anytime to deal with dramatics, so don't start any, got it?" Buffy warned him. "I'm sure you're a good fighter, but I need Spike. I'd like your help, but I don't need it."

"I'm in," he repeated.

Buffy could tell something was wrong before she even put one foot on the porch and she was through the front door at a run. "Buffy!" Dawn yelped, rushing to her sister and throwing her arms around her.

The Slayer stumbled as she tried to keep from running her little sister over. "What's going on?"

"She's dead!" Dawn cried into her shirt.

Buffy's heart was suddenly beating triple time. "Who? Dawn, _who_?" she demanded.

"Chloe," Dawn answered and Willow and Tara appeared on the stairs.

Buffy couldn't stop the immediate feeling of relief, instantly chiding herself for it. "What happened?"

"She killed herself, we think," Willow answered, voice heavy. "They were training in the backyard and then inside for dinner…none of us noticed she wasn't there. I went upstairs to check…" Tara's hand was on the back of her neck, fingers stroking her hair soothingly.

Buffy swallowed thickly. "The First…"

"Probably," Willow agreed.

"Definitely," Buffy stated firmly. "It's been busy tonight."

Willow noticed the principal standing in the doorway behind Buffy and she nodded her head in his direction. "Um, Buffy…"

The Slayer glanced over her shoulder, keeping one arm around Dawn as she waved him in. "We got attacked on the way to dinner. He knows who I am." Something occurred to her and she looked at him again. "Exactly how long have you known that, anyway?"

He shrugged. "You break up a lot of fights at the school," he answered vaguely. "That, combined with your record from high school… Knowing what I know, it wasn't hard to figure out."

"Oh, okay," Buffy agreed, blushing. She sobered after a moment. "Where is she?" she asked, sighing when Willow pointed back upstairs.

"Xander's on his way. We didn't want to drag her down the stairs," she confessed.

Buffy nodded, resting one hand on her friend's shoulder. "You did the right thing. I'll get her. Could you two get the girls outside?"

Tara nodded without speaking, her hand sliding down Willow's shoulder and arm to take her hand. Wood watched them gather the grief stricken girls quietly while Buffy took the stairs two at a time. She was back after only a few short minutes, the girl cradled carefully in her arms. The door opened behind him and Xander and Anya let themselves in.

Xander pulled up short, his eyes traveling quickly between Wood and Buffy as the Slayer came in with a dead body in her arms. "Uh, hi Principal Wood. Nice to see you?" he said uncertainly. "This is my wife, Anya."

"Nice to meet you," Wood greeted them, shaking her hand politely.

Xander edged around the taller man and lowered his voice. "Buffy, what's he doing here?"

"He knows who I am," Buffy stated. "Get the back door for me, would you, Xand?"

He moved immediately to obey, following her into the yard. The girls were milling around and they turned to watch as Buffy put the body down carefully. She didn't speak, just found her shovel and started digging the next grave in the unfortunate row. After a moment Xander picked up another and started helping her, the girls watching in silence. Tara slid behind Willow and curled both arms around her waist, their fingers twined together as she pulled her wife to lean against her body. The blonde put her chin on Willow's shoulder and the redhead leaned against her head.

"I don't want to be the one who finds bodies anymore," Willow whispered sadly. "I think I've said that before."

"I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry," Tara whispered back, squeezing her gently.

Buffy and Xander finished their hole and he helped lower the body into it gently, Buffy positioning her gingerly before she climbed out. They covered it up and Buffy cleared her throat as the girls drew in closer, all eyes on the dark dirt of the fresh grave. "Does anyone want to say anything?" she offered, glancing around the circle. The others didn't speak and she let out a deep breath. "Okay, I will…"

"Chloe…" she started slowly, voice hesitant as she tried to gather her thoughts. "Chloe fell. The First came for her and she fell. It's coming for all of us and we have to be ready." The girls were looking around at each other, none looking comforted by Buffy's words. "I know this isn't what you wanted to hear, but you need to understand it. The First is going to do everything it can think of to tear you down, make you want out. You have to be stronger than it."

"Stronger than Chloe, you mean," Kennedy pointed out, her arms crossed over her chest, challenge clear.

Buffy sighed, her head dropping. "If it means that I don't have to bury you in my yard, then, yes," she started firmly. She lifted her face slowly. "I know it's harsh, but it's the only way to keep you alive. And that's what I'm trying to do. Any help you want to give me is appreciated." She let her eyes travel around the group. "I liked Chloe. She was a sweet kid. Didn't deserve what happened to her." With that she withdrew from the circle and returned to the house.


	11. Chapter 11

As soon as Buffy was inside the house she could hear voices in the basement and she opened the door soundlessly, listening. She was surprised to hear her own voice in the basement, teasing Spike. He was grumbling and brooding but not appearing to be arguing too much.

She started down the stairs cautiously, catching a fleeting glimpse of herself before it vanished. "Spike? Everything okay down here?" she asked.

He was watching her as she came into view and he shook his head cautiously, trying to clear it. "Buffy?"

"It's really me. What did it say?"

"It was talking," he muttered, shaking his head. "Buffy?" he asked again, confused. She was staying cautiously back, out of the range of his chains and he rubbed at his temple, groaning in pain.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and resisting the compulsion to move forward and help him out. "Talk to me, Spike."

His head lifted and his eyes were yellow, vampire brow drawn into the demonic ridges over his normally blue eyes. "Buffy," he growled, lunging at her. She didn't jump back, still standing outside of the range of his chains.

"Spike, what happened to you?" She could hear steps on the stairs and she spoke again without looking over her shoulder. "Stay behind me."

"What's going on?" Willow asked.

"The First is messing with all of us today, apparently," Buffy answered, her head turning as she heard heavier steps on the stairs. "Leave if you're going to start trouble," she warned Wood sternly.

"This is your tame vampire?" he asked, gesturing to Spike. "Because he looks just as evil as every other one I've killed. And with worse hair."

"Will, we have to help him. The First is triggering him somehow. We need to figure it out," Buffy said, ignoring the principal. "Any ideas?"

The witch glanced between Wood and Buffy, still not sure why he was present. "I'll call Giles," she said slowly, edging back toward the stairs. "Buffy?" she asked at the base.

"It's okay, Will," the Slayer reassured her, nodding. After a second she stepped forward and punched Spike, fists bashing him behind the ear as his head turned in reaction to her first blow. He slumped to the ground, unconscious immediately.

"So you _don't _trust him," Wood stated, sounding smug.

"That's not it," Buffy stated, heaving Spike's body back onto his cot. "He'll snap out of it once he either does what the First told him to do, or if I knock him out. Hitting him was just easier." Buffy could hear Dawn's quick, light steps on the stairs and she sighed. "It's not what it looks like, Dawnie. He was possessed again."

"Willow told me," Dawn said. "Is he okay?"

The Slayer shrugged, standing up straight. "I didn't hit him _too_ hard. He should wake up soon enough. Did Will and Giles come up with something?"

"I think so," Dawn conceded. "Will sounded excited about something."

"Well, that's something at least," Buffy sighed, leaning back against the column to wait. Dawn and her principal were eyeing each other, the silent tension awkward.

Spike had just started to wake up when Willow returned, Giles in tow. Buffy blinked, surprised to see her Watcher. "You're here," she said dumbly, hugging him. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," he said with a cough as she squeezed him too hard. "And with more girls."

Buffy grumbled but nodded, gesturing to Robin as she pulled back from her mentor. "Rupert Giles, this is the new Sunnydale High principal, Robin Wood." Giles nodded, stepping forward to shake his hand.

Spike sat up then, rubbing his head with a groan. "What happened?"

"You were brainwashed again," Dawn said, staying at her sister's side until there was a sign that he was back to himself.

"But I'm alright?" he asked, grumbling as he rubbed at his eyes. Giles cleared his throat and Spike looked at him. "Great. You shove my soul back down my throat and have the quack scientists cut up my brain, and I'm still going to end up getting staked," he complained, glaring at the Slayer and her Watcher. "And who's this bloke?" he asked, pointing at Robin. "D'you bring him in to stake me? I figured you'd want to do it yourself, pet."

"Buffy's not going to stake you," Dawn stated firmly, glaring over her shoulder at her sister.

"I'm not!" Buffy agreed quickly, raising both hands. "Giles and Willow are going to help you…hopefully," she said, giving them a questioning look, hoping for some support.

"Yes, precisely," Giles chimed in. "I have a solution to determine what is triggering you to act that way." He lifted a small wooden box and revealed a brown stone. "We just have to put this into your brain."

Spike frowned, scooting back quickly on his cot to press his back against the wall. "I already don't like this plan," he stated.

Willow rolled her eyes, picking up the stone. "It's not going to be like this when it does its thing," she told him. "I'm going to wake it up and it's going to slide down your optic nerve."

They all looked at her strangely and Spike shook his head, curling his knees up to his chin. "You're not making it better, Red," he stated.

"It's not going to hurt," she said unconvincingly. He could just glare at her and she shrugged. "Hey, it's your only option, buddy!"

Spike took a deep breath and stood up, rolling his shoulders and throwing a few jabbing punches to work himself up for it. "Okay, do it," he instructed, waving Willow forward.

The witch was trying not to smirk and she nodded, letting her eyes slide closed as she murmured the spell. Buffy and Spike both leaned forward to watch as the stone in her palm started to ripple, the texture changing and becoming smooth as it appeared to melt, slithering around her hand.

"I don't like this plan again," Spike stated, backing up. He shook his head, waving her forward again. "No, wait, I'm ready! Do it!"

Willow and Buffy exchanged looks and the Slayer stepped forward and pushed Spike down to sit on the cot. She used both hands to hold his head still while Willow brought the wriggling thing closer to him. She lowered it carefully toward his eye, grimacing as he screamed as it slithered down under his eyelid.

He stiffened as it reached his brain and Buffy let him go. Spike appeared to be in his own world, reacting to things they couldn't see or hear. Giles perked up when Spike started humming, noting the song carefully. Spike came out of it shortly after, shaking his head and sitting up with a groan.

"Did it work?" he asked, looking around at the others. "Am I cured?"

Buffy looked around the room, seeing Willow shrug. "I'm not sure. Giles?"

"What does that song mean to you, Spike?" Giles asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back against the column.

He frowned, trying to think. "What song?"

"You were humming," the Watcher prompted.

Spike shook his head, rubbing his hair uncomfortably. "I don't know what it was."

"It had to be important," Giles pressed. "Think."

"My mum used to sing it to me. That's it!" Spike said, waving his hands in dismissal. "No big deal."

Buffy frowned. "Could that be what was triggering him?"

"I believe it could be," Giles answered.

"So, what do we do with that?" Buffy asked.

"Willow, could you get that song?" Giles suggested.

"You _want_ to trigger him?" Buffy demanded, facing him squarely.

Spike stood up at that, pacing at the extent of his chains. "Is that a great idea?"

"Buffy will be here to knock you out," Giles said. "And I think the only way to get you past this compulsion is for you to bring yourself out of it. Without the First giving you instructions this time, perhaps you can break yourself out of it."

Spike paused, grinning wickedly. "Does that mean you have faith in me?" he asked, smirking as Giles glared at him. "I'm so touched."

"I'll just go get that song," Willow interjected, waving as she turned to dash back upstairs. Tara was in the kitchen and Willow looked around quickly as she reached the main floor. "Hey gorgeous, have you seen my laptop?"

Tara smiled fondly, leaning over to pull dishes out of the dishwasher. "I think you left it under the bed," she stated. "You were working upstairs last night."

"Oh, yeah," Willow remembered and bolted to get it. She pushed a space clear on the kitchen island for it when she came back and started the song downloading. "Hey, are you going to be busy in here for a while?"

Tara glanced around the messy kitchen and nodded. "I think so, yes."

"Good. Stay up here. Don't go down into the basement for a while, okay?" Willow requested. "We're triggering Spike on purpose. I don't want you anywhere you can get hurt."

Tara frowned, giving her wife a stern look. "And where are you going to be while there is a crazy vampire in the basement?" she asked, voice deliberately soft.

Willow was distracted by her computer, but still caught the look and swallowed thickly. "Um, up here with you, of course. Helping…"

"Good answer," Tara murmured.

"Just let me run this downstairs and I'll be right back," Willow prompted, leaving her computer to give Tara a kiss. "Be right back. Save me another one of those, okay?"

Tara laughed, nodding in amusement. "Sure thing, honey." Willow gave her a wink over her shoulder as she started down the stairs and the blonde laughed as she went back to work putting the dishes away. It didn't take long before Willow was back with Dawn in tow.

"What can I do to help, beautiful?" Willow requested, grinning cheerfully. There were crashes almost immediately downstairs and the three of them exchanged looks.

Tara arched an eyebrow. "Is Buffy going to be okay down there?"

"She can handle Spike, even if he is nuts," Willow said, glancing at the floor as there was another loud crash. "Probably," she added, leaving to door to the basement open just in case.

Dawn helped with the cleaning, but stayed near the basement door the whole time. Spike's strangled growls and thrashing could be heard clearly and Willow had to stop the teen from going into the basement several times. When they all heard him groan painfully though, Dawn was gone before the witches could stop her. They exchanged panicked looks as the crashes grew louder and Willow bolted down the stairs after her, Tara on her heels.

The entire room froze at Dawn's entrance, Buffy hanging over Spike's shoulder while he held her knees and Giles pulled back on his chain. Buffy swatted at his back as he didn't move, leaving her face suspended over the concrete floor. "Spike! Put me down, you nutjob!"

He dropped her abruptly as his face cleared, his blue eyes locked on Dawn. "Oh God," he groaned. He stumbled back, tripping over Buffy on the floor and falling into a seat on his cot. "Dawn…"

"Oww!" Buffy called petulantly from the floor, shoving his legs off of her as she sat up. "Dawn, what are you doing down here?"

"It sounded like you needed help," Dawn protested.

Buffy groaned, rubbing at her temples. "Spike, you alright?" she checked. He nodded and she found Willow's computer with her eyes. "Just to check, Giles, could you start the song again? Dawn, stay on the stairs with Willow."

It took the Watcher a minute to get the computer working and Buffy tensed as the song started, but Spike didn't react, just taking deep breaths on his bed. "I think I'm good, pet," he announced after a moment. "You got any Sex Pistols on there?" he asked, gesturing to the computer.

"No," Willow answered. "Sorry Spike," she said, rolling her eyes. "You're okay?"

"Your concern is touching. Really, I'm moved," he said dryly, rubbing at his shackled wrists with either hand. "Have I earned a break from these stupid things?"

Buffy and Giles exchanged looks, the Watcher shrugging. Buffy stood up slowly, finding the keys in her pocket. "You're alright?"

"I'm good, Slayer," he said, giving her a tired smile. They were both covered in scratches and there was a bruise rising on his cheek.

Buffy nodded, the keys jingling as she unlocked his cuffs. "If I can give you a hint on what you should do with your freedom, I think you should take a shower as soon as possible," she suggested, giving him a wink.

He rubbed at his wrists again, grinning. "That might take a while to get some time in the bathroom. The little wannabes have got this place filled to the rafters."

"Oh, believe me, this is a priority," Buffy stated emphatically. "I'll get them out of the way."

Willow couldn't help laughing as the Slayer moved past her and Tara on the stairs. "Our lives are weird," Willow observed dryly, grinning as the others all laughed in agreement. Spike didn't follow them, choosing instead to mope on his bed.

Robin and Giles did follow the women back upstairs, the group joining Buffy in the living room. Robin had a strained look on his face and Buffy arched an eyebrow at him. "What's your deal?" the Slayer asked.

"Your life is…very strange," he stated.

"I said that!" Willow agreed, curling into Tara's side on the couch. The blonde gave her an affectionate smile and curled one arm around her wife's shoulder, fingers guiding her head down to her own shoulder.

Buffy gave the pair a tired smile, her exhaustion evident as she crossed her arms over her chest. She mustered energy with obvious effort, letting her arms drop. "Do you want to talk?" she asked him.

"I want to give you this," he said, extending his bag.

She took it with a moment of hesitation, giving him a look. "All of a sudden you're okay with all of this? What about Spike?"

He heaved a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping. "You were right," he said quietly. "Whoever it is down there in your basement, he's not the one who killed my mother. Not if he so obviously cares about her," he said, gesturing to where Dawn was curled up on the opposite side of the couch from Willow and Tara.

"Spike…he killed your mother?" Dawn asked in a shocked whisper. "I'm so sorry."

He gave her a bitter smile. "Yeah, me too. But he's obviously different now. Staying angry won't do anything but give me an ulcer." He grimaced. "And trying to keep a lid on the high school is likely to kill me before that's going to happen."

Buffy couldn't help shaking her head as he handed over the bag. "Thanks. Do you want to stick around and see what's inside it?"

"You know I do," he affirmed, nodding. "Do you want to go through it tonight, or are you too tired?"

Buffy shrugged, putting the bag down on the coffee table and taking a seat as Willow curled her legs up to give her room. The witch finally put her legs across Tara's lap to give Buffy more room, the blonde witch resting her arm across the top of Willow's knees.

Buffy handed things out as she rooted through the bag, weapons and a few books that Giles eagerly snatched up. Buffy held onto the last item in the bag, an old metal box. The others looked up from their objects as she set the box carefully on the table beside the bag.

"What is it?" Dawn asked, leaning forward to look closer.

"I don't know," Buffy answered, shaking her head. They were all watching as she opened the box, sorting through the contents. "Puppets?" she wondered, turning the flat metal figures over in her hands.

"Shadow puppets?" Dawn said, lifting one book from her stack. "That's what they are, right?" She explained quickly, showing the book to her sister.

Buffy stood up, getting out of the teen's way. "Show us, Dawnie," she prompted, nodding her head toward the table and moving the bag out of the way.

Dawn slid over into her sister's seat and Willow reluctantly unfolded herself from Tara's lap, leaning forward to watch as Dawn found the first piece. "Can you light this?" the teen requested, handing her a candle. Tara retrieved a lighter from the drawer of the end table and handed it to Willow with a small smile, accepting a kiss on the cheek as a sign of gratitude.

Dawn took the lit candle carefully, setting it up in the center of the base. She stared down at the book, frowning in concentration as she started to read, stuttering over the foreign language. Xander turned down the lights and they all watched as the single shadow puppet started turning on its own. A few of the potentials wandered in as Dawn kept reading, the teen putting in the next puppet. The shadows started spinning faster as she went along and Willow and Tara both sat up as they each felt the energy in the house change.

Dawn finished the myth and there was a clap like thunder, a crackle of lightning as a portal opened up. Buffy watched it, sudden wind whipping through the room. "Will…"

The witches were both on their feet but Willow shook her head. "I don't know, Buffy…" Willow pushed at her hair, other hand gesturing wildly. "There's no way to know where it goes, or how to get you back out."

The Slayer took a deep breath, wiping both hands down her legs. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way," she stated confidently, diving headfirst into the portal.

None of them could move, a shadow rising inside the portal. It closed with a snap and they finally reacted as a newly arrived demon lunged forward. A swiping backhand sent Anya flying into Xander, the pair crashing back into the wall.

"Dawn!" Willow called, yanking the teen down and out of the rampaging demon's way. Robin jumped into the fight as Xander did his best to get out from under Anya without injuring her further. "Tara, stay with Dawn, I'll get Anya!" Willow was quick to issue orders, leaving her wife to watch over Dawn while she sprinted across the room to get to Anya. The former demon was slow to push herself up, helped by Willow's arms under her shoulders.

The fight was loud, Xander and Robin repelled repeatedly as blows sent them sprawling back. Fortunately, it was enough to draw Spike's attention, the vampire charging up from the basement and diving into the fight.

"Little bit!" he yelled and Dawn peeked up over the edge of the coffee table.

"I'm okay, Spike. Be careful!" she called back.

"Where's big sister?" he yelled, driving the demon back with another punch.

"Went through a portal," Dawn yelled.

Spike growled, dropping into game face suddenly. "Do we need this one alive?"

It was hard to hear him over the growls and random ambient noises that go along with a fight, but Willow's negative response was easy to hear, followed immediately by the audible snapping of the demon's neck as Spike jerked back with the arm he'd slipped around the creature's neck.

He dropped the body with a groan, heaving an unnecessary deep breath. "Buffy?"

"She jumped through a portal and we got this one instead," Willow explained, helping Anya into Xander's arms before her eyes surveyed the room.

"We got the worse part of that deal," Spike commented sarcastically.

"Is everyone okay?" she questioned, ignoring the vampire and letting her eyes find Tara solidly and linger until her wife gave her a reassuring nod.

"Will…" Xander started.

"I know," Willow interrupted. "I'm working on it." She paced momentarily, brain already racing. "Tara…"

"I'll get it," the blonde assured her, picking her way carefully through the mess.

"And the…" Willow started to add.

Tara gave her a crooked, if strained, smile over her shoulder. "I'll get all of it, sweetie," she reassured her, dodging past several of the curious potentials.

"What are you going to do?" Xander asked, shoving the coffee table out of his way with one foot as he escorted Anya to the couch.

"I'm going to open the portal and get Buffy back," Willow stated.

"You know how to do that?" Robin asked, surprised. "What are you, a witch?"

The others froze for a second, having almost forgotten that he was present. "Yes, actually, she is," Giles chimed in. "She and Tara both."

Robin looked doubtful and his arms crossed over his chest. "And you know how to do that? Open the portal, or whatever?"

Willow sighed, shoving her hair out of her face. "Yes. At least, I have an idea where to start."

"What's our timeframe?" Xander asked, looking over his shoulder from cleaning blood from Anya's scrapes and scratches, taking the handkerchief Giles offered.

"Quick as I can," Willow stated, resuming her pacing. Tara came back just then, her arms full of bottles and pouches. Willow and Dawn helped her unload the burdens onto the coffee table. The redhead was muttering to herself as she sorted out ingredients on the low table.

"What do you need me to do?" Tara asked softly.

Willow looked up from her preparations, hesitating. "I'm going to need…support."

Tara put one hand over Willow's, knowing what that meant. "You've got it. Anything else?"

Willow bit her lip, finding one particular bottle of sand. "Circle?"

"Of course," Tara agreed, letting their fingers brush as she took the bottle from the redhead.

Willow burned a few feathers and scattered a couple more ingredients on the floor before it was ready to go. The witch took up her spot in the center of the circle, Tara taking a place behind her.

"You ready?" Xander asked, obviously anxious himself.

Willow nodded reassuringly, already gathering her power. "Get the demon up. You and Spike need to throw it in once the portal opens up."

Xander and Spike exchanged looks and the pair moved to heave the body up as energy crackled around Willow. The witch let her eyes slide closed and took a steadying breath. As she let out the breath there was a peal of thunder, the air in front of her shimmering.

Willow groaned, her brow furrowed with effort. She was obviously straining and her fists were clenched on her thighs. Tara took hold of her wrist, squeezing gently until Willow's hand relaxed and let the blonde's fingers slide through hers. Tara gasped, her head falling forward as Willow started drawing on her energy.

The shimmering light grew brighter and there was a crack as the portal snapped back into existence. The men pushed the demon's body in and Buffy tumbled through a heartbeat later, the Slayer breathing hard. Willow shut down the portal as soon as her friend was clear, Giles catching Tara as the blonde slumped weakly.

"Damn it," Willow muttered under her breath, pulling her hand from Tara's grip. "Xander…"

He was already there and he lifted the groggy witch into his arms. "Where do you want her?"

"Couch," Willow directed and Anya shifted to give her husband room to put Tara down.

"Willow…" Buffy started.

The redhead looked over her shoulder at her best friend, already on her knees next to the couch, her hands brushing Tara's hair back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Buffy said uncertainly. "What happened here?" she asked, looking around her living room.

"They swapped you for a demon," Willow explained distractedly, her attention quickly back on Tara as the blonde moaned. "Baby, Tara, talk to me," Willow pleaded quietly, aware that everyone was behind her and watching, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"The demon hurt her?" Buffy questioned, looking around for an answer.

"No," Willow answered. "It was me," she said, voice hoarse.

Buffy and Xander exchanged surprised looks. "Will, what?" Buffy asked. "What happened?"

"The spell," Willow responded. "I needed more power for the spell…she knew…she didn't stop me."

"You pulled too much?" Buffy started hesitantly. Willow didn't speak, just sent a glare over her shoulder and the Slayer swallowed thickly. "Hey, Willow, come on. She's going to be fine. I'm sure she wouldn't have let anything bad happen."

"She's right," Tara groaned, drawing Willow's attention instantly.

"Thank God," the redhead gasped, leaning forward to press kisses all over her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tara said, taking a deep breath. "Buffy?"

"I'm good," the Slayer responded. "You?"

Tara gave them a weak smile, nodding. "What happened in there?" she asked, trying to get the focus off of her.

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at each of the others, the Scoobies and the potentials around the room. "I…I met the guys who made the first Slayer. They're old and creepy." There was an edge in the Slayer's voice and she shook her head. "I _really_ didn't like them."

Giles looked intrigued and obviously wanted more answers, but he held his tongue as Buffy shook her head minutely. There was something more she wanted to say, but she clearly didn't want to talk about it in front of the potentials. "Nothing urgent learned?" he checked.

"No," she said regretfully. "Just some vague warnings and superiority. They are most definitely the forefathers of the Council."

He gave her a nod that said that they would talk later. "Very well. It's getting late. You girls should be heading to bed," he said, pointing around the room at the potentials. "Anya, are you alright?"

"I'm okay," the ex-demon said, lifting the handkerchief from her head to check that her head had stopped bleeding. "I think I'd like to go home, though."

Xander nodded, helping her up. "Tara, do you need a hand upstairs?"

The witch shook her head, pushing herself up slowly. "I can make it," she said, voice tired. "Thank you, though." She gave him a small smile and he curled an arm around Anya's waist as the couple departed. Willow stood up, offering both hands to help Tara up. She cut her eyes upstairs, getting a nod from Buffy.

The Slayer lead the way upstairs, Dawn and Giles following her. Willow and Tara were the last up the stairs and they didn't follow the others into Buffy's room but went to their own room instead. There were already potentials spread across the floor so they couldn't turn on the lights, but Willow helped Tara to the bathroom and into her pajamas. The blonde was moving slowly and Willow tucked her in carefully.

The redhead was hesitant, fidgeting with the edge of the blankets. "Sweetie," Tara started softly, her voice low and tired in the darkness.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Tara," Willow interrupted. "I never…"

"I know that, Willow," Tara interjected. "I gave it to you. I knew what we were doing."

"I would _never_ have hurt you."

Tara hushed her with a hand over her lips, shaking her head. "You didn't. I'm fine." Willow's mouth moved under her hand and Tara leaned forward slowly, only moving her hand once it was the only thing between her lips and Willow's. The redhead still tried to speak but Tara captured her lips, fingers sliding over the back of her neck and into her hair.

Willow couldn't stop a whimper, the kiss slow and gentle. Tara let her in with no prompting, breathing deeply through her nose so she didn't have to separate from the redhead. Willow pushed closer, leaning on one arm on the far side of Tara's body. They separated slowly, each snagging kisses as they pulled back.

Tara sucked on Willow's bottom lip, letting it go with a pop. "Love you," she breathed, catching her breath.

Willow couldn't help smiling, realizing as she opened her eyes that she was teetering on the edge of the bed, her body twisted uncomfortably. She started to move and Tara let her hands slide slowly out of her wife's hair. "Tara…"

"I know you need to go talk to Buffy," the blonde whispered, covering a yawn with one hand. "I'll be here."

Willow let out a deep breath, sitting up reluctantly. "I'll be back as quick as I can," she promised softly. Tara nodded, stretching in the sheets. "You save my spot," the redhead requested teasingly, leaning over to press a kiss to her wife's forehead.

"Yes, ma'am," Tara answered, smiling crookedly up at her and catching Willow's collar so she could lean up and kiss her one more time.

Willow took another deep breath, hesitating. "I could stay," she said. "They don't need me…"

Tara shook her head, fingers finding Willow's hand on her chest and squeezing it gently. "You know you wouldn't be able to sleep without checking on Buffy."

"I'm more interested in checking on _you_," Willow said, a snuffling snore reminding her that they weren't alone in their room. "Unfortunately, any kind of respectable checking up on you isn't possible with all these girls in here," she complained.

Tara laughed quietly, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Are we sure 'respectable' is a good word for that?"

Willow smirked, shrugging. "We're married!" she said, faking offense. "It's perfectly respectable!" She gave the blonde a wink. "On the other hand, maybe 'respectable' isn't _exactly_ the right word. You're a vixeny vixen."

"Me?" Tara questioned. "Are you serious? Maybe you're forgetting the time…"

Willow's hand landed over her wife's mouth, blushing brightly. "Okay, it's a draw. Let's not give anyone who's still awake any kind of juicy images." She leaned over to press another kiss to Tara's forehead, letting her hand slide off of her wife's lips. "I'll go and be right back, okay?"

Tara nodded, yawning. "I'll wait up for you."

Willow hesitated, shaking her head. "No, sweetie. I know how tired you have to be. And, again, I'm _so _sorry…"

"It's okay," Tara reassured her. "You didn't hurt me. Never will," she stated confidently, yawning again and curling onto her side. "Hurry back, okay?"

"Of course," Willow breathed softly, dragging her fingers through Tara's hair. The blonde's eyes blinked slowly and slid closed and Willow forced herself off the edge of the bed. The dark lumps on the floor that were the sleeping potentials needed to be carefully avoided and she was relieved as she reached the vacant hallway.

Buffy's door was cracked and Willow nudged it open quietly, easily finding the lump of blankets that was Dawn on the floor. Buffy sat up in her bed, waving Willow in. "Hey," the Slayer whispered. "How's Tara?"

"Tired," Willow answered. "But she'll be okay."

Buffy nodded. "You wouldn't hurt her. Thanks for getting me out."

"What happened in there? With those guys?"

"I might have made a mistake, Will," Buffy confessed. "They showed me what's coming, and they…they offered me more power."

"Okay," Willow agreed slowly. "So…"

"So, I didn't take it," Buffy said. "I didn't like their conditions and I said no."

The witch swallowed, nodding. "Well… We'll just make it work, Buffy. That's what we always do anyway, right?" Buffy gave her a weak smile and Willow reached forward to touch her shoulder. "We all trust you."

Buffy covered her friend's hand with her own, her smile becoming more natural, less forced. "We all trust you too, Will."

Willow bit her lip and let out a deep breath. "I would hope so, diving through that portal like you did."

Buffy grinned in the darkness. "I knew you'd get me out." Their eyes met and they both sobered. "We're in trouble here, Will."

The witch nodded. "I know." She shrugged. "Got any great ideas to get us out of it?"

"Not yet," Buffy admitted. "Maybe you and Tara, Xander and Anya, you guys should take Dawn and get out of town." Willow didn't speak, just arched an eyebrow at her in disbelief until Buffy let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I know it's not happening. Call it wishful thinking."

Willow shook her head, the hand on Buffy's shoulder squeezing gently. "Now that that foolishness is taken care of, I need to be getting to bed. If I know Tara, she's waiting up for me."

Buffy smiled, nodding. "I'm sure you're right. Tell her thanks for me."

Willow nodded, standing up and picking her way back through Buffy's room and the obstacles in her own room. Tara shifted closer as Willow slid in behind her, the blonde reaching back with one arm to pull her in tighter. "You're supposed to be sleeping already," Willow whispered, curling one arm around her wife's waist.

"I feel pretty sleepy," Tara conceded, voice soft.

Willow smiled, breathing slowly against the back of Tara's neck. "Sleep then, sweetness. I'm here now." Tara relaxed against her, breathing steady as she succumbed to sleep and Willow let herself follow, worries about Buffy's news from inside the portal driven away by the feeling of her wife in her arms.


	12. Chapter 12

"Welcome, gentle viewers," could be heard through the bathroom door, and Anya knocked impatiently. "Andrew! You're taking too long! Masturbate like a normal person and then get out of the bathroom!" she ordered. She opened the door after he didn't answer, glaring at him. "What are you doing in here? Get out!"

She shooed him out, their hostage houseguest clinging to his video camera. "I'm chronicling life here in Slayer headquarters!" he protested.

"You're wasting time and being obnoxious," Anya argued.

"I'll need to interview you," he offered as an enticement. "You and Xander are key figures!"

Anya considered this momentarily, obviously intrigued. "Okay, you can interview us, but nothing sexy on tape. Xander's penis is just for me!"

Andrew looked disappointed and she glared at him. "You won't regret it," he said and Anya pulled him out of the way of the bathroom line. "How about individual interviews first?"

She nodded, leading the way downstairs. Buffy and Willow were sorting through papers at the dining room table but they didn't look up as Anya and Andrew trooped into the living room to do their interview.

"I thought you told him to stop playing with that thing," Willow commented dryly, her eyes still skimming the text in front of her. The Hellmouth's energy had been growing wildly in the last few days and it was starting to affect the students at the school so the Scoobies had been trying to find a way to close the seal, hopefully restoring the school to its normal, Sunnydale normal at least, level of radiant evil.

"I did," Buffy responded, rubbing at her head. "This is impossible," she groaned. "It would be wrong to drink while we research, right? We're not in high school anymore."

Willow laughed, still turning pages in her book. "Do we even have anything to drink in here? The house has been full of underage girls for months now."

"I'm sure Spike has something hidden somewhere," Buffy complained. "He's always got that flask in his coat pocket!" She realized what she was saying and wrinkled her nose distastefully. "On second thought…"

"We have juice," Willow offered in what was supposed to be a cheerful voice but was just tired. "How about…never mind, shovels aren't going to work. Maybe we should just find Spike's flask…"

Buffy looked up from her book with a laugh. "You're sounding a little jumpy on the subjects over there. Are we out of juice? I know it couldn't have lasted long enough to go bad. The girls are like locusts in the kitchen."

Willow looked confused herself, frowning as she tried to remember. "No, I mean, I think we're fine for juice. Huh?"

They both laughed helplessly and Buffy got to her feet. "I'll get us something to drink, juice or otherwise."

"Thank you," Willow said, dropping her head into her book. She heard the door open, but couldn't be bothered to lift her head. Her mind was working and she tried to think through the problem, muttering to herself. "It started with blood…maybe there's something…" She jumped as fingers pushed her hair off her neck. "Tara," she breathed, recognizing the touch instantly.

"You're jumpy today. Is everything okay?" Tara asked, both hands rubbing her wife's shoulders gently.

"Just stumped. And the school is still going nuts," Willow said, still not picking up her head. "That feels good."

"You're welcome," Tara said, giving Buffy a smile as the Slayer returned to the table with several glasses. "Talk me through what you're thinking," the witch prompted. "Maybe I can help."

"I'm sure you can," Willow said, breathing deeply as Tara's touch relaxed her slowly. "Okay, so the seal was triggered because Jonathan and then Spike bled on it, right?"

"Okay," Tara said. "Blood starts it."

"And now you're caught up," Willow said, obviously frustrated. "I've got no ideas."

"It's alright," the blonde soothed her, thumbs pressing more firmly against Willow's tense muscles. "Let's look at it from another side. Shedding the blood was a violent act, right? One was even a murder. That's what opened the seal. So what's the opposite of murder, of blood?"

"Anya would say sex," Buffy commented, blinking as Willow lifted her head at that. "You know, because sex makes life, murder takes life…like opposites…" she explained, voice slowing down almost doubtfully as she reached the end of her explanation.

"So we have to go…have sex on the seal?" the redhead asked, confused. "Because we're not on board with this plan."

Tara was blushing brightly and she shook her head. "I d-doubt sex is t-the answer. Maybe something like remorse, sorrow?"

Willow blinked, standing up quickly and turning to kiss Tara. "I married a genius!" she bragged before kissing her again, on her knees in the chair to get closer.

"Look who's talking," Tara said, smiling. "What are you thinking?"

Willow looked over her shoulder at Buffy. "Are you up for scaring the pants off of Andrew?"

The Slayer perked up, grinning. "As long as you don't mean 'pants off' literally, I'm in!"

"You've got a plan?" Tara guessed.

Willow nodded, taking hold of her wife's wrist and turning to sit in her chair correctly, pulling Tara around and into her lap. "Okay, so the murder started it up. And from everything I've read the only person who has a chance of shutting it down is the one who activated it."

"Andrew," Buffy chimed in.

"Yeah. And like Tara said, remorse for what he did could be just what we need to seal it back up. Temporarily, at least."

"So I take him down to the basement and make him feel bad?" Buffy asked. "Is that all?"

"Tears," Tara said, curling one arm behind Willow's shoulders, fingers playing with the back of her wife's hair. "He has to cry tears of remorse on the seal."

"Exactly," Willow agreed proudly, grinning up at her.

Buffy let her arms swing at her sides, wiping them on her pants before draining her glass in one long swallow. "Okay, I'm on it."

"The school is pretty Hellmouth-y right now," Willow reminded her. "Maybe you shouldn't go alone."

The Slayer sighed, glancing out the window. "The girls are about to be inside for the night, but it's still too early to take Spike. Can you call Xander? I'll call Wood too."

"Okay," Willow said, pouting as she realized she'd have to let Tara off her lap to get the phone.

"I'll get it," Buffy said, laughing. "No need to get up, Tara."

"Best seat in the house," Tara commented quietly, blushing.

"You've got that right!" Willow agreed, cheered by their success, even if there was no proof that their idea would work. With the way the First had been rallying against them, any success was to be celebrated.

Buffy returned with the phone and they each made their calls, the Slayer interrupting Andrew's attempt to document their lives to drag him with her to the high school. Willow kept Tara on her lap while the potentials returned indoors from their training in the yard. She was amusing herself by whispering into her wife's ear, her good mood overpowering her lack of sleep.

Willow grumbled as the phone rang on the table, Tara picking it up and answering it. "Hello?" Willow listened absently to the one sided conversation, her hand tracing invisible patterns across Tara's thigh. "Oh, she's right here. One second."

"For me?" Willow asked, surprised. "Who is it?"

Tara shrugged, one hand over the speaker of the phone. "Someone named Fred. It sounds like a girl though."

Willow nodded distractedly, taking the phone. "Oh, she is," she said. "Fred? What's wrong?" Her face went white as the answer came through the phone. "Okay. I'll be there as fast as I can. You all be careful. He's dangerous!" She clicked off the phone, forgetting momentarily that she couldn't get off the chair. "Hon, I've got to go!"

Tara got up obligingly, following her as Willow rushed upstairs to their room. "You've got to go meet this woman Fred?"

"Yes," Willow answered, already throwing ingredients for a spell into a duffel bag. She realized what it sounded like after a moment and she froze, looking up from her frenzied packing. "Tara, no. It's not like it sounds."

"I trust you, Willow," Tara interrupted, voice calm and sincere. "I'd just like to know where you're going, how long you'll be gone, things like that."

"You come!" Willow interjected. "Come with me!"

Tara leaned against the frame of their doorway, shaking her head. "I don't need to go. I trust you."

"Angelus is back. I'm going to need some help with the spell. Please come?" Willow requested. She finished her packing and crossed the room to where Tara was lingering at the door. "Angelus scares me, Tara."

"Of course I'll go with you, sweetheart," Tara said. "You know I have nothing but faith in you though, right?"

Willow nodded, taking her hand. "I know that," she affirmed. "Thanks for coming with me though."

"Now?" Tara checked.

"Yeah." Willow was already leading them down the stairs. "I'll call Buffy's phone on the way out of town. We need to get to L.A. as soon as possible. The Angel thing can't wait."

Tara nodded, surprising Willow by sliding in behind the driver's seat. "I'll drive, sweetie. You're tired and I'm sure you have some preparations you'll want to do on the way."

Willow gave her a grateful smile and a quick kiss before she went around to the passenger side. She was reading while Tara got them on the freeway, putting her book back in her bag as they neared L.A. and their exit so she could give her wife directions.

They pulled into the hotel and Willow took a deep breath. "Ready?" she asked, looking across the car to Tara.

"Yeah. Are you?" the blonde responded.

Willow nodded, opening her door and picking up her bag. "Thanks for coming, Tara."

Tara nodded, squeezing her hand as they started to walk toward the hotel. "We're away from the Hellmouth. You're feeling better, aren't you?"

Willow shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm just nervous. Angelus is one of my worst nightmares and he's in this building."

Tara frowned but didn't say anything as they entered the lobby, glad to see that wherever Angelus was wasn't in this room. Angel's team was talking at the counter and Willow jumped in as a teenage boy stated that Angelus needed to be put down. "I don't think so. I think you need a witch." They all turned to look at her in surprise and she managed a smile. "Did I come at a bad time?"

Wesley stepped forward, his jaw hanging. "Willow."

The teen glared, his arms crossed over his chest. "She's a witch?"

Willow glanced at Tara, smirking. "Yes. Both of us. Hello. You must be Angel's handsome, yet androgynous, son."

"It's Connor," the boy shot back, attitude hostile.

"Nice to meet you," Willow said. "This is Tara, my wife."

"Wife?" he demanded. "You're both…"

Wesley gaped at the witches while Fred stomped on the teen's foot. "Ah, yes, well…it's good of both of you to come. Did the call of magic draw you here?"

Willow shook her head, waving with her free fingers around the strap of her bag. "The call of Fred."

He turned to look at her, relieved. "Of course. Bring in the only living person to ever reensoul Angel."

"She has a fresh brain. I thought she might see some things we missed," Fred reasoned, smiling shyly. "Thanks for coming, Willow. And Tara. Thank you both for coming."

"You're welcome," Willow said, grinning back. "I'm just glad Angelus isn't in the room. Seeing him isn't something I'm eager to do."

Fred shuddered. "No, he's mighty unpleasant. He's in the basement in a nice big cage we built."

"Sounds good," Willow said. "Anything else we should know? Where's Cordy?"

Connor let out a growl that was surprisingly animalistic and Willow and Tara exchanged glances. "Unfortunately, the guy you're all trying to magically reensoul shot her with a crossbow. She's not up for visitors."

"Okay," Willow agreed, not wanting to antagonize the obviously temperamental teen. "I'll talk to her once it's done, if she's up for it."

Wesley nodded, waving them in. "Shall we get you both caught up on our dilemma?"

Fred looked excited and skipped over to give Willow a hug. Tara gave her an arched look as the tiny physicist scampered off again to collect some books and Willow gave her an elbow in the side. "She's cute," Tara commented in a whisper and Willow narrowed her eyes at her.

"I didn't notice," Willow said pointedly, squeezing her hand around Tara's.

Wesley was doing his best to ignore them, the same way Giles acted on the rare occasions that they were overly affectionate in front of him. He explained what had been going on, that they had removed Angel's soul in order to retrieve information from Angelus, but the jar with the soul had been stolen from their safe.

Willow was frowning, thinking it over. "So the jar…"

"The Muo-Ping," Fred supplied cheerfully.

"It's sacred," Tara said.

"But made of glass," Willow countered. "And therefore crunchable."

Tara tried to think it through. "But wouldn't we need to have the jar? Of course, if we had the jar it wouldn't be a problem."

"There might be another way," Willow said. "What about Delothrian's Arrow? That could find it for us."

"Delothrian's Arrow is used to protect good magic, is it not?" Wesley asked. "And the jar is a sacred object."

"The soul is what's sacred. The jar is just glass," Willow said. "And the spell would have no problem breaking every jar in the world, but the soul gives us something specific to aim for."

Wesley smiled, starting to feel relieved. "You've gotten stronger," he commented.

Willow blushed, glancing at Tara. "It wasn't all good, but I had help. And someone to bring me back when I went too far."

Tara brushed one hand over her wife's knee, giving her a tight smile. Wesley watched the exchange, nodding seriously as memories of his own darkness rose. "I understand. It's good that you have each other."

There was an awkward pause and Willow cleared her throat. "Okay, well baby, you want to help me with some bells?"

"I can help!" Fred offered eagerly.

Tara gave Willow a crooked smile as Wesley followed Fred out of the office. "You hear that? Fred would _love_ to ring your bell," she teased and Willow wrapped an arm around Tara's waist, pinching her side warningly.

"Nobody touches my bells but you…" Willow whispered, pausing. "That sounds weird. I meant…"

"I know what you meant, sweetheart," Tara assured her. "I was just picking on you. Fred can ring bells if she wants to."

"Not…"

"Literal bells, Willow," Tara interjected, resting one hand over Willow's at her side. "Don't pinch me again, please," she pleaded teasingly, giving the redhead a smile.

"Fred, there are some bells in the bag there," Willow said, gesturing to her duffel on the floor. She quickly explained what the physicist needed to do, ignoring Tara's tiny smirk.

"Are you ready?" Wesley asked, watching Fred start her pacing and rhythmic bell ringing.

"Yeah, no problem," Willow said. She closed her eyes, gathering her energy.

Tara could feel the change instantly, the darkness suddenly very present and powerful. She pushed herself off of the counter, suddenly tense. "Will…" She was too late as a bolt of orange energy came out of nowhere and struck Willow hard in the chest, sending her flying across the room.

A sudden booming voice echoed in the room. "Stay your hand, witch! You will not interfere with what must come to pass." Willow tried to cast a spell but was forced back into the wall with a groan. "You think to banish me?" the voice demanded.

Tara crossed the room to Willow quickly, supporting her. "There's somebody in my head," Willow groaned, her head thrashing.

"It's going to be okay, Will," Tara whispered. "Take my hand," she prompted.

Willow felt their energy combining through the touch, her mind clearing as Tara's familiar presence replaced the strange, angry one. "Vetsche invadoria disparu!" Willow shouted and the dark energy retracted in surprise as she forced it to withdraw.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked, brushing hair back from her face.

Willow was breathing hard, but her eyes were clear. "Don't let go," she stated, pushing herself to her feet with one hand, still holding Tara's with the other hand. A marble floated to her and she started the spell to shatter the jar. Everyone jumped when there was suddenly a gigantic demonic head in the air above them, but Willow kept up her chanting. Another strike of energy shot at the witch, but Tara's free hand lifted, blocking the attack.

"I can't…Willow," she breathed hard, squeezing her wife's hand. "Can't do both."

Willow nodded. "You hold it off, I'll break the jar." She let go of Tara's hand and her eyes flashed dark for a few heartbeats before she regained control and released the marble to find its target. She strained as whoever was fighting her redoubled their defense, and blood started to drip from her nose. The demon head above them roared and Connor bolted off to check on Cordelia.

A few seconds later, the head had vanished and Willow slumped as her struggle ended suddenly. Wesley barely caught her and Willow pushed herself up slowly. "The soul is loose," she said. "Whatever that thing was though, it's still out there. We need to get this done, now."

Tara nodded, giving her one lingering look before she went to set up the spell. Willow curled herself into a seat on a couch for a few moments, trying to regain her focus and calm. She'd come closer to the darkness than she had in a long while. Tara had the ensouling spell set up on the reception desk when she finished her hasty meditation and Willow gave her a grateful smile as she settled the orb into its spot in the center.

"Ready?" Tara asked, getting a nod from Willow. Fred was standing by to wave the burning herbs and Willow started her part of the chant while Wesley watched. The orb was glowing as Connor returned but he didn't stay, heading straight down into the basement.

Willow finished her spell at a shout, the energy shooting through her as the orb vanished. She was breathing hard, but was pleased by her success. She gave Tara a reassuring smile, distracted as Faith ran past them, following Connor into the basement.

"Was that?"

"Faith," Wesley answered, already following. "She came to help us with Angelus. She was in a coma though."

"Again?" Willow asked in disbelief, following him down the stairs.

The scene was frozen as they reached the basement, Lorne dashing in behind them. "She's alive! It's a miracle!" he announced as the tension broke with Connor taking a swing at Faith. The Slayer blocked the blow without trouble, easily taking him down.

"Ain't you been training this kid to fight?" Faith asked, looking at Angel in relief.

"Weren't you just in a coma?" Wesley responded.

She shrugged. "I guess comas aren't the thrill ride they used to be. Didn't feel like sticking around for eight months this time." She looked over her shoulder, surprised to see Willow and Tara on the stairs. "I guess you being here means that the big guy is back to his old self again."

"Angel?" Willow asked, just to check. He nodded and stood back as Wesley came forward and unlocked the cuffs.

"It's really me," Angel assured them as Wesley hesitated to turn the key. "Willow's a veteran at this one by now."

"I even did Spike," she affirmed, realizing what it sounded like as Wesley and Angel turned to stare at her. "His soul. I put it back."

"Spike has a soul?" the men asked simultaneously, both shocked.

"It was that or kill him," Willow answered.

Angel scowled. "You should have killed him. When he loses it…"

"He's not g-going to l-lose it," Tara interjected, feeling shy around these people she'd never met, but feeling a need to defend Willow and their decision.

"It's permanent," Willow affirmed. Angel looked stunned, gaping at her.

"I…how…?" he wondered.

Willow looked at the others, swallowing thickly. "I looked into the curse. I found a way to change it, make it safe."

Angel took a few helpless steps toward her, his hands unknowingly trembling at his sides. "Did you…?"

Willow edged around Wesley to meet his gaze solidly. "Your soul is yours, Angel. It's not going anywhere." He didn't react and she smiled hopefully. "Do you like it? I haven't told Buffy yet. It was going to be like a birthday present. Or Christmas."

"Don't tell Buffy," Angel said hoarsely and Willow blinked in surprise.

"You don't want her to know?" she asked.

Angel shook his head, running one hand through his hair. "I…This is big, Willow. Thank you."

She gave him a cheerful grin and hugged him before he could stop her. "You're welcome, Angel. I think it'll make all of our lives a lot less scary."

He gave her an uncharacteristic smile at that, nodding. "You're right. And I'll tell Buffy, but I'd like to do it myself."

Willow nodded, one hand on his still chest. "Okay. I'm glad you're better." She gave the rest of the room a pointy finger and a stern tone. "Whichever genius decided to bring back Angelus, you should have called me first," she chided them.

Angel laughed, rubbing at his hair with one hand. "It was Wes' idea, but I went along with it," he confessed. "We'll call you next time. We'll need you to figure out a way to even remove the soul." He was sounding cautiously excited and Willow giggled, hugging him again compulsively before she let him go and took a step back.

"So, are you heading back to Sunnydale?" Wesley asked.

Willow nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm afraid this was just a short visit." She turned her eyes to Faith. "I know we could use another Slayer back on the Hellmouth if you've got some free time."

The dark-haired Slayer glanced around the room at Angel's friends, taking a deep breath and shrugging. "I guess I've got some time. Unless you think I need to finish my rehabilitation back in jail," she added, glancing at Angel and Wesley. "They'll probably add to my sentence, but I'll go back if you think I should."

The men exchanged looks and Wesley gave her a smile. "I think the fact that you asked that question tells me that you've gotten all you can from your time in prison. Buffy and the others will need you."

Faith shrugged, glancing at Willow. "I guess I'm with you," she said. Her eyes moved up to where Tara was lingering on the stairs. "You must be Tara. I know we've been talking the last few months, and we met that one time when I was in Buffy's body, but I was kind of being a bitch, sorry."

"N-nice to meet y-you too, Faith," Tara greeted her, smiling shyly. Willow gave her a smile over her shoulder, her tiredness showing in the shadows under her eyes. "Sorry it's such a short trip, but we should probably be going back."

Willow nodded, giving her a tight smile. "She's right. There's a lot going on at home. Faith, if you're ready…"

"Stay for dinner at least!" Fred exclaimed. "Y'all rushed down here to help us out, the least we can do is get you some dinner!"

The women exchanged glances and Faith shrugged. "I could go for some grub," she said. "As long as we got time."

"Fine," Willow agreed. "We're going to be driving after dark either way. And Buffy can keep it under control for the rest of the day."

Faith snorted, leading the way back upstairs. "B is slipping if she can't keep it going for one day without some backup from the Scooby sidekicks." She glanced sideways as Willow didn't respond to the teasing. "It's bad?"

"It's bad," Willow confirmed. "Really bad, Faith."

The Slayer nodded, her expression sobering. "We can eat quick and get back on the road. I wouldn't mind getting some non-prison food."

"And a-any food w-without having to f-fight t-thirty girls for it is g-good," Tara added, trying not to laugh as Fred skipped along at Willow's side, the pair chattering about something science-y.

Faith asked questions and Tara filled her in on what had changed since their last talk. They'd been keeping in touch every few weeks so there wasn't too much to catch up on, but the Slayer was a bit stunned by how many new girls had shown up in Sunnydale. Tara expressed concern over the fresh bruises that Angelus had given Faith, but she knew from being friends with Buffy exactly how fast Slayers could heal. Willow and Fred chatted through dinner, the tiny physicist hugging the witch excitedly before the three left to return to the Hellmouth. Willow caught Tara's look, but dragged the blonde out of the hotel by one hand before Faith could start teasing.


	13. Chapter 13

Willow was tired from her struggle against whoever had stolen Angel's soul, and Tara insisted that her wife rest in the backseat of the car while she drove. They were almost back to Sunnydale when Tara steered them around a curve only to slam on brakes to avoid hitting something in the road.

Willow was sleepy and groggy as she climbed out of the back, joining Tara and Faith as they moved forward to investigate. It proved to be the scraped and broken body of a teenage girl, one of her hands covering a spot on her cheek while she whimpered painfully.

Faith picked her up gingerly, getting the girl into the backseat and sliding in beside her and leaving the witches to ride in the front. Willow headed toward the driver's seat, but Tara turned her firmly toward the other side of the car. Willow pouted but got on the phone with Buffy to let her know that they would be late.

The Sunnydale Emergency Room was as busy as ever, the girl they'd rescued moaning in pain while they waited for their turn to be admitted. Once they were finally in an exam room the girl showed them what had been burned into her face, claiming that she had a message for Buffy from someone named Caleb. The three exchanged looks and Willow excused herself to call Buffy again, asking the Slayer to join her at the hospital. Faith was uncomfortable and jumpy inside the starched whiteness of the exam room, and she decided that she was just going to walk from the hospital rather than wait around for Buffy to show up.

The witches were relieved when Buffy got there, the Slayer talking to the potential and convincing her to let Willow take a picture of the sigil that had been burned into her cheek. The girl told them how she had been picked up by a priest in an old pickup truck and he'd agreed to give her a ride to Sunnydale. However, once they'd gotten close, he'd burned her with his ring and told her to give a message to the Slayer before he'd kicked her out of the truck at forty miles an hour.

Willow wanted to go home immediately and do some research on the symbol and the hospital cooperated and insisted that they leave the girl to recover. Buffy had run from the house and the witches had the car, but the Slayer said she was meeting some of the girls in the graveyard for training instead of going home. Willow warned her that Faith was heading toward the house, but knowing the Slayer and her penchant for fighting, it was probably going to be by way of a graveyard.

"I'll play nice," Buffy agreed, grinning ruefully as she set off toward where she knew Giles and Spike would have taken the girls. She was only halfway surprised to see Spike and Faith fighting as she found the group. She broke them up and explained that Spike hadn't been attacking the scared potential he'd been pursuing through the graveyard, but was training them to fight.

Spike and Faith were still glaring at each other and she finally snapped her fingers. "I remember you now!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Remember me?" he questioned. "I'm _sure_ I'd remember meeting you." She smirked and stepped closer to whisper in his ear. His eyes were wide as she stepped back and he glanced between Buffy and Faith, his face unreadable.

Buffy stared at him, cocking her head to get a closer look at him. "Are you okay?" she asked curiously, wondering morbidly if there was history between Faith and Spike.

Faith laughed as he stalked off, grumbling under his breath. Buffy turned to her counterpart, questioning. "It was when I was you a few years back, remember?"

Buffy snorted. "Like I'm going to forget that," she said. They were walking and she paused. "You didn't…?"

Faith laughed again. "No, not with Spike."

"Yeah, let's _not_ talk about who you did sleep with…" Buffy requested. "But if you didn't sleep with him, what did you do that's got him all jumpy?"

"Um…I might have said something about riding him until he popped," Faith said, grinning unabashedly.

"Oh hell," Buffy groaned. "That might be the last thing I need."

Faith shrugged. "You can't blame me! He's pretty hot!"

"You've been in jail for a while now, haven't you?" Buffy shot back.

Her dark-haired counterpart smirked, nodding. "It's been a while, yeah. You're telling me that you and Spike never…I mean, he kind of looks at you like…"

Buffy groaned, lifting one hand to stop Faith's words. "I…stop. I can't say _never_, but it was just once and we do _not_ talk about it. And he is not into me like that. Not anymore."

"So if we were to blow off some steam together…"

The blonde Slayer rolled her eyes, waving her hand. "Do what you want, I know I can't stop you, just don't let me see it," she requested.

Faith let her shoulders slump dramatically and took a deep breath. "Aww, being so easy kind of takes the fun out of it," she grumbled.

"And going after another guy I slept with, even if it was just once, is played, Faith," Buffy agreed as they exited the graveyard.

Faith glanced sideways at Buffy, voice low as she spoke again. "Will tells me it's bad here."

"It's bad here," Buffy confirmed flatly.

Faith met her eyes, nodding seriously. "Well, I've got your back. Whatever's coming," she promised.

Buffy sighed. "Is it really that easy, Faith? You're out of jail and back in Sunnydale and we can be friends again?"

The dark-haired Slayer hesitated. "I know you don't trust me, don't really like me even, but I'm here. That's all I'm saying."

They reached the house and Buffy and Faith lingered on the porch as the potentials filed inside. Giles followed after them, leaving the Slayers alone. "You're right, Faith. I don't particularly trust you." The other girl slumped, but kept her eyes on Buffy's. "But you're obviously working on stuff and you're here to help. Thank you." She entered the house without speaking again, leaving Faith to follow.

It took them two days to find any information on the symbol that Caleb had left for them. Faith had been patrolling with Buffy, but avoiding most contact with the other Scoobies, choosing instead to spend most of her time sparring with the potentials or bickering with Spike.

They had just returned from training and the potentials spread through the house, eating and lounging around the living room. Willow and Tara were at the table, and Giles waved Buffy over to look at what they'd found. Faith caught a glare from Dawn and she moved noiselessly toward the back of the house, looking to get away from the crowds of teenage girls. The basement door was cracked and she slipped down the stairs, gratefully shutting the door behind her and sealing the noise away. She paused on the stairs as she noticed Spike sitting on a cot, his back against the wall.

"Want me to go?" she asked, smirking at him in the dim light.

Spike shrugged, his eyes raking her form. "Wouldn't say no to a bit of company," he invited her, shaking a cigarette out of a pack in his pocket.

"Can I bum one of those?" she asked, sitting down beside him on the bed. He handed her the one he'd just lit and she took a deep drag, blowing the smoke back out slowly and handing him the cigarette back.

He took a drag and gave it to her for her next puff. They passed it back and forth in companionable silence, both quiet and comfortable. "So, you're kind of on the outs with the Scooby group too?" Spike asked. Faith just stared at him, eyebrows raised and he continued quickly. "No one spends time down here that doesn't have to. You just…you and the little blonde leader don't really get very extra curricular."

Faith shrugged. "Generally we're not. I'm doing this whole redemption thing though, and Will said I could help here."

Spike finished the cigarette and shook the pack, mentally debating whether he had enough for them to have another one.

"I'm good," Faith said, stretching her arms over her head.

"I'll say," Spike agreed emphatically, pushing the cigarette butt into an ashtray.

Faith cocked an eyebrow at him, a definitely pleased smirk coming to her lips only to growl as the door to the basement opened. "Faith, we've got some work to do," Buffy called down the stairs. "Get off of Spike now, please."

"Sorry to disappoint, pet," Spike called. "But we weren't quite there yet."

"Then someone out there still loves me," Buffy returned. "We're out the door in five minutes, Faith."

Buffy was grumbling under her breath as she returned to the table, leaning over for a look at Willow's computer screen. "Faith ready to go?" Willow asked.

"Definitely, but I think I got there before they actually did anything," Buffy said, distracted by the screen. "Are we sure this place has something to do with that symbol that Caleb guy burned on that girl?" No one answered her and she looked up. "What?"

"Faith…and Spike?" Willow asked slowly. "Seriously?"

Buffy shrugged. "Faith has been hinting…and neither one of them has exactly been getting any lately…"

"Okay, gross," Willow said quickly. "Let's not talk or think about that."

"Agreed," Giles said dryly without looking up from his book. "The symbol is definitely older than the vineyard, but the fact that it's attached to that place, and so close to the Hellmouth, is significant. It bears investigation."

"We're on it, G," Faith chimed in as she entered. "Ready to go, Buff?"

Buffy nodded, checking the stake in her sleeve and leading Faith into the living room. "Better take a sword," she advised. "This guy's not a vamp." Faith obliged and selected an axe from the weapons chest, giving it a few testing slashing chops to get the feel of it.

The door shut behind them with an audible click and Willow slumped forward onto her books, taking a deep breath. "There's a temple a few hours to the north that bears the same symbol as the vineyard. Someone should check it out," Giles said, still distracted by his texts.

Willow grumbled, but Tara stroked the back of her neck soothingly. "We can go," she offered. "But can we afford to borrow the car for however long it's going to take?"

"Either of you birds drive a bike?" Spike spoke up from the kitchen, evidently waiting for the microwave to finish heating his blood, the only thing that was safe in the fridge from the potentials.

"I can," Tara spoke up and Willow lifted her head in shock, all of them looking at the blonde in surprise.

"I didn't know that," Willow said, surprised.

Tara shrugged under the scrutiny, glancing around the room. "My brother, Donny, he had a dirt bike. He used to let me drive it sometimes."

"That is _so_ hot," Willow breathed, blushing as she realized that the others could hear her.

Spike was smirking and the microwave beeped. "I'll get the keys, pet."

"Are you guys going to be safe here without magic backup?" Willow checked.

"You've got the house sealed against vampires, and Buffy and Faith are here, and Spike," Giles said. "I imagine we can keep it under control until you get back. And the trip likely won't take too long. You'll be back tomorrow."

"I guess that means you want us to go now," Willow commented, giving her distracted mentor a look. He started to speak and she interjected again before he could. "I know. 'Time is short.' No problem."

Tara gave the older man a more genuine smile, pulling Willow up by two hands under her elbows. "Come on, sweetheart. We've got to change clothes." Willow let herself be dragged away, not entirely unwilling.

"Of course I'll never object to you taking clothes off in front of me, but why do we have to change, exactly?" Willow asked once they were in their room, for once alone in the space.

Tara gave her a grin over her shoulder, her own attention drawn as Willow started slipping the buttons on her shirt through their slots. "Um…" she said dumbly, shaking her head and turning her back deliberately. "It's g-going to be c-cold. P-put on j-jeans," she directed.

"It felt fine outside earlier," Willow reasoned, pulling a long sleeved t-shirt over her head. "Am I going to need a coat, or can I just snuggle really tight to you?"

"Yes, and yes," Tara answered, turning her head to give her a laugh. Willow pulled a coat on over her shoulders, smiling happily as the blonde turned and took hold of the sides of her jacket to pull her closer. Willow glanced down as her wife lined up the zipper and started pulling the tab up. "Ready?" Tara asked as she reached the top, her arms sliding around Willow's neck.

"Guess so," the redhead agreed. "I'm ready to see my lady being all hot on a motorcycle!" Tara gave her a look and she shrugged unapologetically. "And we'll get the information about the symbol," she added, waving her hand.

They trooped back downstairs and Spike handed over the keys to his bike while Willow found a few pages of research and folded them into the pockets of her jeans. Tara started the bike, some of the potentials watching them set off from the porch. Willow climbed on behind her, arms tight around her waist. "You're sure you remember how to do this?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

Tara gave her a grin over her shoulder, one hand stroking over Willow's at her waist. "Aww, sweetie, you don't think I'm going to crash you, do you?"

"No," Willow said a bit unconvincingly, her eyes traveling over the motorcycle rumbling below her. "It's just loud and rumbly and a little scary."

Tara gave her a reassuring smile and she patted the top of the football helmet on Willow's head, pulling Spike's helmet on herself. "Don't be scared, baby. I won't let anything happen to you, trust me."

"Let's go," Willow stated, giving her a smile. Tara leaned forward and knocked their helmets together since the protective headgear made kissing impractical. The blonde clicked the bike into gear with one foot and Willow couldn't help squeaking as they started moving, her arms tightening compulsively around her wife's waist.

It took her a few miles to get used to the wobble, the sounds of the wind whipping past her ears, but Willow had to admit that it was fun riding on the motorcycle. And Tara had been right about the cold. Even with her jacket she was still chilly and her hands were numb. She jumped as one of Tara's hands found hers and guided them under the edge of her jacket, pressing Willow's fingers to the comparably hot skin of her stomach. Willow tried to keep her fingers from touching her, knowing that her hands were cold, but Tara pressed down gently, reassuring her that the contact was welcome.

The monastery was dark when they pulled up, but Willow knocked nonetheless. It took a few minutes, but there was an answer at the door, an obviously nervous monk poking his head out into the darkness. "Who-who are you?"

"We're not here to hurt you," Willow said, seeing how he was trembling. "We just have some questions…" Her voice trailed off as he turned his head and she saw the scar on his cheek, the same scar that Caleb had given the potential they'd found in the road. "I think you might have some answers for us."

He shrunk back from the door and they exchanged looks before they slipped in and joined him. He slammed the door behind them and Willow turned quickly to watch their backs. "Are you with him?" the monk asked, retreating from them.

"No," Willow stated. "He's shown up in Sunnydale, on the Hellmouth. We're trying to find more information about him." The monk didn't speak, just studying them as he backed down the hall behind him, his steps echoing in the bare stone passage.

"He was here," he said, his hands wringing in his robes. "He was looking…he killed all of us."

Willow frowned. "How did you escape?"

"Hiding. I was hiding," he answered her. "In here. There's a passage."

"What was he looking for?" Tara asked, the pair moving forward cautiously to follow him deeper into the monastery. She could tell Willow wasn't entirely trusting the solitary monk, but they were both cautious and alert.

"This," the monk said, gesturing toward a wall. "He came to us one night and was searching, excited. He found this though and grew angry, burned his mark on me."

Willow moved forward excitedly as he triggered a stone on the wall, a secret room opening up. He lifted a torch from the wall and held it up for her to read the inscription on the wall. Willow was mumbling to herself and she quickly scribbled a translation onto a piece of paper from her pocket.

"We've got what we needed from here," Willow said. "Unless there's something else he did, something else we should know," she prompted the monk.

"That is all he did. The words made him very angry though. He killed the other members of my order."

"We're very sorry," Tara offered, Willow's arm curling through hers.

The predawn air was chilled as they exited the monastery and Willow yawned. "Are you going to be okay to drive, because if not we could be stuck here for a while since I can't drive that thing."

Tara nodded reassuringly, blinking to clear her eyes. "I'll be fine. We just might need to take an afternoon nap or something," she said, knowing that it was an unlikely dream, especially with new research to do.

"Done," Willow agreed, yawning.

They mounted the motorcycle and Tara steered them back toward the Hellmouth. The sun was rising but the air was still chilled and Willow kept herself pressed close against Tara's back. Buffy and Faith had been home for a while when the witches returned, but the group was still going over plans at the table when they came in.

"Morning," Willow greeted them, gratefully taking a cup of coffee from Dawn. "Thanks for this," she said, drinking half of it down without taking a breath. "It looks like you guys got something."

"How about you? Any luck?" Buffy asked, handing off the papers Willow pulled from her pocket directly to Giles. "He's got something going on at that vineyard," Buffy said. "I can feel it!" The others sent her simultaneous looks and she threw up both hands. "I know! We're going to wait until we have proof."

Willow arched an eyebrow at her friend. "Have you guys already had this discussion this morning?" she guessed.

"Yes," Buffy agreed. "You know what? You guys want proof, I'll get you proof," she declared, stomping out through the front door.

Willow turned to watch her go, sipping her coffee more slowly. "She's not normally so energetic this early in the morning," she commented. "Should one of us go with her?"

"I'm there," Faith agreed with a sigh, following her blonde counterpart out the door.

Willow covered a yawn as she leaned over to read over Giles' shoulder. "Well, if Buffy's sure there's something at the vineyard, we might have a clue what it is," she offered, pointing out her notes from their trip to the monastery.

Giles read quietly, glancing up at her. "'It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield.' You think it's a weapon?"

Willow shrugged, looking despondently into her empty coffee cup. "It reads that way, doesn't it? Have you ever heard of such a thing? A weapon meant for Slayers?"

He shook his head, reaching for his glasses. "No. If the Council had heard of it they would have torn the world apart looking for it. If it does exist, it's very ancient."

Willow slipped into a seat beside him at the table, looking up gratefully as a fresh cup of coffee was set gently next to her elbow. She gave Tara a smile, hesitating for a second before handing it to Xander. "We're going to catch some sleep," she stated, standing up again and taking Tara's hand.

Giles gave them a distracted nod and Xander gave them a more convincing smile. "Sleep well," he offered.

There were a few late risers still moving around in their bathroom, but Willow shut the door to their room, yawning widely. "How come I'm yawning more than you?" the redhead asked sleepily.

"You're the one who drank a whole cup of coffee not five minutes ago," Tara countered, hanging her jacket back in their closet.

"Yeah, and you were driving all night," Willow reasoned. "You're not sleepy?"

"No, I am," Tara stated. "Are you sure we don't need to help?"

Willow arched an eyebrow at her wife, shaking her head. "We were awake all night getting information. We've done our part for today." She took Tara's hand, pulling her toward the bed. "We can help more later. Now it's sleepy time," she insisted. She led the way under the blankets, falling asleep quickly in spite of the increasingly bright sunshine outside the windows.

A commotion downstairs a few hours later woke Tara and rising to investigate woke Willow. The redhead grumbled, pulling Tara back to her. "Where're you goin'?" Willow asked, voice slurred as she struggled against waking up.

"There's something going on downstairs, sweetheart," Tara told her, leaning over to press a kiss to her wife's forehead.

"So?" Willow questioned. "Doesn't have anything to do with us. Come back to bed."

Tara couldn't help laughing, her lover always disgruntled whenever her sleep patterns were disturbed. "It could be important. I'm just going to check it out. You don't have to come. Go back to sleep," she coaxed, pressing another kiss to her forehead.

Willow grumbled further, but pushed herself up, still muttering under her breath. "No, I'm coming," she said, rubbing at her eyes. Tara wrapped both arms around herself, one hand covering her mouth as she stared at Willow. The redhead yawned, blinking wide green eyes at her. "What?" she asked.

"You," Tara answered fondly. "You're just the cutest thing when you wake up." Willow smiled happily and Tara leaned forward to give her a kiss. "And when you're awake." Another kiss. "And when you're going to bed." Another kiss, longer this time.

"So," Willow said, smacking her lips as she got to her feet. "You think I'm cute, do you?"

Tara giggled, nodding. "Yes, I guess that's what I was saying," she answered.

Willow blushed, her mouth open to respond, but the door opened before she could and a group of potentials came in, all talking. "He looks so weird with no eyes like that!" one said and Willow's jaw snapped closed, her eyes meeting Tara's.

"Glad I'm already awake," Willow groaned, pulling on a pair of jeans quickly. Tara went into the bathroom to change clothes, but was only a few steps behind her wife as they went downstairs. The Scoobies weren't there and they went into the basement, finding their friends chaining a Bringer into Spike's cuffs, his bed having been shoved out of the way.

"Your proof?" Willow asked as she joined Buffy, the Slayer watching Spike and Faith chain the weakly resisting Bringer. Buffy nodded and the witch gave her a smirk. "You know they can't talk, right?"

The Slayer rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I know _that_," she answered. "Giles is working on something…I think." She shrugged. "What are you doing up?"

Willow shrugged. "We woke up, and then some girls came in…"

"So you guys got interrupted," Buffy commented, elbowing Willow gently.

"No, we were just talking," Willow denied, blushing. "And then they came in talking about some guy with no eyes and we decided to come check it out." She looked at Giles. "So, how are we going to make him talk?" she asked, changing the subject and drawing smirks from her friends.

"I have an idea," Giles said. "I'll need you or Tara to perform it."

"Okay," Willow agreed easily, stepping forward to read over his shoulder.

"I could beat him up," Andrew offered hopefully.

"No," Buffy responded flatly, obviously not the first time she'd had to deny him.

"Please?" he asked.

"She said no," Faith shot back over her shoulder, arms crossed over her chest.

"I can do this, no problem. I'm a little rusty on Turkish, but I'll give it a try," Willow interjected, lifting the book from the table and sounding out a few words. "Konus bizimle guzel adam. Knous bizimle gozleri olmayan adam. Speak to us," she finished.

The Bringer was sitting on the floor and he lifted his head, but didn't say anything, didn't react at all. "Maybe I should rough him up a little," Andrew interjected again.

"Be quiet," Faith directed, glaring at him.

Willow slumped, disappointed. "I don't know, you guys. That should have worked." She and Giles leaned over his books again, the Watcher pointing out another possibility on the page.

"I am a drone in the mind that is evil," Andrew said, the group ignoring him.

"Shut up," Xander said without looking at him.

"I am a part of the Great Darkness," Andrew continued. The Bringer couldn't see, but his face was pointing at Andrew and Tara turned to look at him, getting Willow's attention with a soft word. "I am a only a fragment of the We. We work as one to serve the First."

Willow moved around Giles' table, crouching down in front of the captive Bringer. "Okay, what do you, 'the We,' do for the First?" the witch asked.

"We work to prepare for the inevitable battle."

Faith stepped forward, dragging the tip of her knife down the Bringer's cheek as she knelt next to Willow. "How?" she asked simply. "What do you do for the First? And be specific."

"We attend to the needs of the infinite evil. We exterminate girls and destroy the legacy of the Slayer. We build an arsenal beneath the dirt. We obey the commands of our teacher, Caleb."

The Scoobies frowned around the basement at each other. "Wait, go back to the dirt thing," Xander ordered. Faith pressed her knife a little more firmly and Giles cleared his throat, meeting her eyes as she looked over her shoulder at him and she withdrew her blade, shrugging.

"We build weapons to prepare for the coming war. At the farthest edge of town. We are everywhere. We are like the ocean's waves. We watch your efforts and are not scared. We will laugh at you as you die."

Faith was still watching Giles and her hand moved faster than thought as he gave her a minute nod, the blade of her knife slashing the Bringer's throat. "We've got everything we can from him," the Watcher declared over Andrew's protests that they could have killed him and Faith stood up, staring at the blood on the knife before she let it drop to the floor.

Buffy gave Giles a stern look, gesturing to Spike to get rid of the knife while she took her Watcher's arm and dragged him up the stairs with her.

Willow stood up, ignoring the blood on the floor and turning Faith away from the body. "Hey, are you alright?" The Slayer didn't answer her, didn't speak, just stared at the bloodstain drying on the concrete floor. Willow pulled her further away, swallowing thickly. "Hey, listen, Faith…we don't even know that those things are human. And even if they are, they're completely devoted to evil, remember?"

"So it's okay to murder them?" Faith asked, her voice low.

Willow hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Faith…"

The Slayer shook her head, lifting one hand to stop her. "No, listen, Will…Thanks for the pep-talk or whatever, but I know what I am, and I know why I'm here."

"Why is that?" Tara chimed in, Xander dragging a fascinated Andrew upstairs with him and leaving the witches and Spike alone with Faith. The blonde witch met the dark-haired Slayer's gaze solidly, holding her eyes. "Why are you here, Faith?" she asked gently.

"Cause I'll do stuff that Buffy never would," Faith answered, withdrawing from Willow's hand on her shoulder.

"No," Tara stated. "You're here because you're a good person, and you want to help."

"Wetworks is helping," Faith chimed in bitterly.

"Stop it," Tara directed her, voice surprisingly firm and it seemed to draw Faith out of her funk. "You think you're a murderer, an evil person, but you're not. If you were, you wouldn't be thinking about this." Faith didn't answer, just lifted her chin in a gesture of defiance. "You don't believe me?" Tara challenged. "Ask someone who was really evil then," she offered.

Spike was leaned against the washing machine, watching in silence, and he smirked. "I'm assuming that was directed at me?" he asked hypothetically.

Faith smirked despite her mood, cocking an eyebrow at him. "Don't even think about patronizing me," she warned him.

"Believe me, when I think about you patronizing doesn't even cross my mind," Spike assured her and Willow wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out.

"I don't think we need to hear about that," she commented.

Spike laughed, lighting a cigarette. "You're not evil, Faith. I've done more evil than you can imagine. I know evil, and it ain't you."

"It's not a competition," the Slayer countered. "I'm not a good guy just because I've done less evil than a hundred and fifty year old vampire."

"No," Tara interjected. "You're a good guy because you question the difference between the two of you."

Willow threw her arm around Faith's shoulders supportively, squeezing her quickly. "You're on our team, Faith. Better just get used to it." Faith's eyebrows rose gradually and Willow realized that she was hugging Faith. "And I'm going to stop touching you now," she declared, dropping her arm to scramble backwards and bumping into Tara, who steadied her with hands on her hips.

Faith let her arched expression hold for another minute before it crumbled into an almost friendly smile. "Come on. Enough pep-talking. Let's go see what crazy plan they came up without us," she said, leading the way up the stairs.

The Scoobies were seated at the table poring over maps while the potentials watched from around the room. "What's the plan?" Spike asked, giving Faith a smirk as she leaned next to him on the wall.

"We're splitting up," Buffy declared over her shoulder.


	14. Chapter 14

"Splitting up?" Willow asked. "You guys found the arsenal?"

"We found the caves on the other side of town, where he said it would be," Xander clarified.

"And I want to check out the vineyard," Buffy added. "So we're splitting up. Whoever wants to go with me, comes with me. Faith, are you up to leading the other team?"

The dark-haired Slayer shrugged. "Sure thing, boss," she agreed easily, catching Tara's look out of the corner of her eye. "One witch with each group?" she asked, exchanging grins with the blonde witch.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed distractedly. "If that's alright with you, Will, Tara."

"Sure," Willow agreed after getting a nod from Tara. "As always, I'm with you, Buff."

"If you insist, I'll take Tara for the night," Faith said, tone deliberately teasing.

"Rephrase that," Willow directed flatly, rising to the bait. Tara and Faith both laughed, the blonde moving behind her to wrap her arms around her wife, pressing a kiss behind her ear. "Be careful," Willow whispered, leaning back into the contact.

"You too," Tara responded.

Buffy sorted out who was going where swiftly, setting off as soon as possible. The sun had just gone down and she wanted to get as much backup as Spike could give them before the sun rose. He had chosen to go with Faith and her team, Buffy's group smaller.

Buffy kept them moving, leading the girls straight into the vineyard, the potentials' training put to work as they were swarmed with Bringers. Buffy fought her way through, confronting Caleb. Willow stayed as close as she could, backing up the potentials and Xander while Caleb and Buffy clashed and repelled each other repeatedly.

Buffy ducked to dodge a sweeping fist and Caleb struck a cask of wine with the force of a truck, sending the contents splashing all over. Buffy stayed low, pivoting her weight on one hand to kick Caleb's legs out from under him. He glared at her as he hit the stone floor, more barrels of wine dislodged as they scuffled, the heavy barrels rolling over them and scattering through the fights the potentials were waging against the Bringers.

The Slayer rolled away as Caleb struck again, his fists cracking the flagstones where she'd just been. Several pieces crumbled and half of the stone fell into a hidden chamber under the floor. A well timed spell from Willow gave Buffy another second to get some distance, Caleb's wrath turned momentarily on the witch.

"Hey!" Buffy called, kicking a loose flagstone up and whipping it through the air at the priest. "I bet you don't want me down here." With that she dropped through the floor and out of sight. Caleb let out a frustrated roar and slapped Willow down hard before diving through the hole in the floor to chase after Buffy.

Xander was there immediately, the witch unconscious and a bruise already rising on half of her face. Kennedy was there a second later, bleeding from a cut on her forehead. "We've got to get her out of here."

"I can take her," Xander said, hoisting Willow into his arms. "Watch your squad's back," he ordered. "And cover us." She gave him a nod and he pushed his way through the fighting crowds. Willow was somehow stirring as they retreated into the cool night air. There was a rumble under the earth and their eyes met.

"Buffy," Willow groaned, trying to push herself to her feet with one arm.

"Stop, Will. You just got the mother of all backhands," Xander reminded her. "Be still," he ordered firmly.

"We have to get Buffy," the witch protested, barely holding her eyes open as she struggled to remain conscious. Just then the potentials started pouring out of the vineyard, Buffy bringing up the rear, something clutched in one hand.

"Willow?" Buffy questioned as she reached them, the other girls already running through the woods.

"She was just awake," Xander said, both of them seeing that Willow's attempt to retain consciousness had failed. "I'll get her," he said, picking her up again. The friends started moving quickly, Buffy keeping pace with Xander's hampered running. "So, that Caleb guy? You killed him, right?"

"No," Buffy answered. "But he should be out of commission for a while. I brought the cellar down on him."

"And that thing?" Xander asked.

Buffy lifted her prize into view, a red bladed axe on one side and stake on the other. "Neat, isn't it?" she asked, sounding tired but pleased. "I'm betting this is the thing he was trying to get to."

"How'd you get it away from him?"

She shrugged. "King Arthur-ed it out of some big rock."

They didn't speak again, Buffy keeping an eye out for any pursuit from the Bringers. The potentials' retreat had slowed down once they'd gotten back to the car and the ride back to the house was almost silent as they nursed their injuries and Buffy tried to revive Willow.

The witch was moving again as they came through the front door, Giles rising from his seat at the table as Buffy deposited her friend on the couch. "Where are the others?" the Slayer asked.

"Tara?" Willow whispered, her eyes still closed.

"They're not back yet," Giles said, hesitant. "There…on the news…"

Buffy frowned, her arms crossed over her chest. "Nothing we deal with ever ends up on the news, Giles. What's going on?"

"There was an explosion, a few minutes ago," he said, voice low.

Buffy's expression froze immediately. "I'm going," she declared, picking up her new weapon and turning to go again. A tearing groan from the couch stopped her. "Willow, no," she said without even turning around.

Willow's voice was hoarse, but her words were clear. "Tara is out there."

"And Faith and Spike. They wouldn't let anything happen to her," Buffy reasoned, still not turning.

"They can't fight an explosion," Willow countered, her breathing raspy.

"Your collarbone is broken, probably your cheekbone too," the Slayer stated, finally turning her head to meet her best friend's eyes. "You're staying here."

"It's Tara," Willow said. "I'm going."

Buffy sighed, shaking her head. "No, Willow. I promise you, I _will _get her back. I'll bring her back to you, I swear. But I need you to stay here. You're injured." Her eyes found someone over Willow's shoulder, nodding as she took a step back.

Xander's hands on her good shoulder stopped Willow from following, catching her a moment later as her thrashing attempt to get away sent her queasy stomach into revolt. Willow's body went limp, Xander's arms around her waist keeping her from crashing to the floor, but not stopping her from gagging, dry heaving helplessly.

"Come on," Xander said once her stomach had finally calmed. "Let's get you lying down. Platonically, of course," he added as Anya cleared her throat. He gave the witch another look and changed direction. "On second thought, I'm taking you to the hospital. Ahn, could you drive?"

"You're trying to finish me off," Willow groaned, leaning heavily in his arms.

"I'm helping your stubborn butt," he disagreed, bending to lift her. "Anya, drive very carefully, okay?"

"I can do it," she said petulantly, pouting at him. Her eyes fell on Willow, the witch pale and breathing hard as Xander helped her into the backseat.

The ride was quick but Willow had fainted again by the time they arrived and the nurses were quick to get her into an exam room. An x-ray confirmed what Buffy had suspected, a broken collarbone and bruised, but not broken, cheekbone and the doctors gave the witch drugs to help with the pain. Xander and Anya stayed with her the whole time, the carpenter rising to check as they both heard the arrival of multiple ambulances.

He went to check on it, leaving Anya to watch over Willow. Buffy was the first person he saw, the Slayer spinning to watch several stretchers get wheeled away. "Buffy," Xander called, drawing her attention.

"Xander," Buffy gasped, grabbing one of his arms. She didn't seem to be hurt beyond her injuries from fighting Caleb, but she was obviously anxious. "Willow?"

"Broken collarbone and her cheekbone is bruised, but they've got her knocked out," he filled in quickly. "What about Tara? Faith?"

"They're hurt," Buffy said vaguely, her eyes traveling restlessly. "Spike took the girls who didn't need the hospital home."

"What happened out there?" Xander asked. "The arsenal?"

"It was a trap," Buffy said. "He wanted us distracted while he took the scythe."

"But we got it," Xander pointed out. "What was the cost though?"

"No one died," Buffy said, both of them knowing that it was a small comfort.

"Where are Tara and Faith?" Xander asked.

Buffy swallowed thickly. "Faith will be fine in a day or two, but she lost a lot of blood. Tara is going to have her arm in a sling for a week or so, but she's got a pretty bad concussion. She's not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"But she can go home?" Xander asked.

Buffy gave him a look. "You know she won't leave until Willow can."

He nodded, arms crossing his chest. "You're right. Well, Willow can probably get discharged once she's awake. The pain meds will work just as well at home."

"Good," Buffy sighed. "It'll be easier to protect them from the house." She pushed her hair back, looking around the chaos of the emergency room, her potentials in the wake of their first battle. "Where's Will?"

Xander guided her back to where Willow was still sleeping. Buffy grimaced as she saw the dark, angry bruises that covered half of Willow's face, her skin pale everywhere else. "This is my fault," Buffy sighed.

Xander blinked, surprised. "What? No, it's not. It might not have turned out great, but we did our planning on this one. No one rushed into anything."

"We just took the Bringer's word about the arsenal," Buffy protested, not looking up from Willow's shadowed face.

"Maybe we took a risk there, but the vineyard was a risk too," he stated.

Buffy glanced up at him, a bitter smile on her lips. "Is this your idea of a pep talk? Cause, honestly, it's not great, Xand."

"No, I'm saying that we can just sit around and let the First get stronger, or we can do something to stop it. That's what we're doing. The girls don't know you like I do. You've more than earned our trust, Buffy. Don't start doubting yourself now." She met his eyes. "That's when we're really in trouble."

She swallowed thickly, nodding. "Thanks," she said quietly, both of their attention snapping to Willow as the witch stirred, moving restlessly.

Willow's head tossed against the pillows and she groaned, her eye on her good side opening slowly. "Tara?"

"She's alright. Just a dislocated shoulder and a concussion," Buffy promised.

"Where is she?" Willow moaned.

"She's getting fixed up," Xander said. "I'm sure she'll be here any minute." Even as he spoke there was a knock on the door and Tara entered without waiting. "See, told you," he said, stepping out of the blonde's way.

"Tara…" Willow whispered, tears burning her eyes and she turned her head to hide her bruises.

Tara leaned over, brushing Willow's hair back with her good hand. "I'm here," she breathed. "And you can't think that's going to work. Turn and let me see, Willow."

Buffy and Xander took several steps back, guiding Anya with them as they left the couple alone. Willow slowly turned her head and Tara gasped helplessly at the bruises. "It's not as bad as it looks," she offered weakly. Tara shook her head and Willow laughed, the sound quickly degrading into coughing that made her groan. "I promise. My eye's fine and the cheek isn't broken, just bruised."

"Your arm?" Tara asked.

"It'll be a few weeks," Willow conceded. "What about you? Are you okay?"

Tara nodded, still distracted by Willow's state. "I can't sleep tonight and my arm will be sore for a few days. Other than that I'm fine."

Willow shifted, her good hand curled protectively over her bad shoulder. "I can help your arm when we get home."

"When we get home, you're going to rest," Tara countered, fingers trailing lightly over her wife's face, feeling the heat radiating from the bruises. "I'm so sorry, Willow."

"No, Tara…don't…" Willow started, stopping herself with an effort. "You're going to be fine. That's all I could ask for." She closed her eye, leaning back into the pillows. "Is everyone else okay?"

Tara nodded. "Some of the girls have some scrapes and bruises, but nothing that won't heal. I'm worried about you."

Willow shrugged with her one good arm, turning her head again so that the bruises were out of sight. "Don't worry. It's just a bruise. It's a big, really dark bruise, but it's not going to scar or anything."

Tara scoffed. "That's not what I was worried about. Willow…"

"I know," Willow said, smiling weakly and not opening her eyes. "I'm just tired. My joking isn't going to be at its best."

"That's because you should still be asleep," Tara chided gently.

Willow shook her head, pushing up with her good arm to sit up straighter. "I'll sleep at home," Willow said tiredly. "Can I go yet?"

Buffy cleared her throat, drawing their attention. "The others are still getting treated, but we'll be ready to go in a little bit." She took a cautious step forward. "How's your shoulder?"

"I can't move it, but it'll heal," Willow answered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Buffy assured her. "I found something at the vineyard."

"So it was worth it," Willow groaned, shifting in her bed.

"I don't know about that," Buffy said. "I'm sorry you got hurt."

Willow shrugged with her good shoulder. "Someone's got to watch your back."

"Thanks for that," the Slayer responded. "We'll get you home soon. I promise." She gave Xander a look and left, wanting to oversee getting the rest of the group patched up.

Willow coughed, holding her good arm out to Xander. "Help me up," she directed. Her broken side was in a splint, unmoving but sore. Xander hesitated, glancing between the witches. "Come on," Willow prompted. "I want to get up and get out of here."

Between the two of them Tara and Xander got the stubborn witch out of the bed and onto her own feet. The nurse who came to check on her wasn't as pleased with her progress, but grudgingly agreed to dismiss her from the hospital.

They got the group back to Revello Drive and Willow was immediately forced upstairs to her room to rest. The Scoobies couldn't get comfortable researching without her though, and moved their studies to the witches' room. Tara wanted to insist that Willow sleep, but the redhead wouldn't be dissuaded and the blonde reluctantly agreed that as long as she didn't try to do too much, the others could stay.

Giles and Willow each took their own branches of research, the witch on the computer and the Watcher with his books, but neither could find any information. Buffy spent her time practicing with her new weapon, swiping and jabbing with either end as she got the feel of it.

"That's slightly less than helpful, Buff," Willow commented after a while without looking up from squinting at the computer.

"Distracting, really," Giles added, his eyes on his books.

"Yeah, well…I don't really have anything else to do," Buffy protested.

"The sun's coming up," Tara said, glancing out the window. "We could go to bed," she suggested.

"Have you been awake long enough?" Willow asked.

Tara yawned, nodding. "I'm fine. What about you?"

"I could sleep," Willow conceded. Her eyes traveled to the Slayer. "Can I talk to Buffy first though? In private?"

The two blondes exchanged glances and Buffy shrugged minutely. "Sure thing, sweetheart," Tara agreed, leaning over to kiss her wife's forehead before she turned and followed the others out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

"What's up , Will?" Buffy asked, putting her scythe to the side and taking a seat next to Willow. "Because if you need to go back to the hospital, I'm sure Tara's going to want to know that."

The witch shook her head. "No, it's not that. Whatever's going on, it's going to happen in the next few days. You know it and I know it."

Buffy frowned, thinking. "But your arm has got a full twelve weeks to heal."

Willow's good hand waved off that objection. "I'll take care of that," she said. "I want Tara off the Hellmouth before we do whatever it is you're thinking of doing."

Buffy met her friend's eyes. "We talked about this, remember? You shot me down." Willow nodded and Buffy sighed. "She's not going to like it," she said calmly.

"You don't want Dawn out of here?" Willow countered immediately.

The Slayer sighed. "Of course I do. But Tara would never agree to take her, not if it meant leaving you."

"Xander could…"

Buffy shook her head. "You know he wouldn't."

"Anya…"

"Anya might run, but there's no way Tara or Dawn would go willingly," Buffy said. She smiled tiredly. "Short of zapping them with a tazer and driving them out of town ourselves, I don't see how it's going to work, Will. And even the tazer thing isn't one hundred percent. They might wake up and fight back."

Willow smiled herself, amused despite the danger. "Damned stubborn women," she grumbled half-heartedly.

"You married her," Buffy pointed out with a laugh.

"Yeah, I did!" Willow responded, unmistakably happy about it. "And the other one's your sister. Just think about it. Maybe we can figure out a way to get them out of here."

"You could try talking to your wife," Buffy suggested, standing up.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if you're going to _rational_ about it," she agreed sarcastically. "Could you get Tara to come back?" she requested as the Slayer moved toward the door.

"Yeah, because she's going to sleep somewhere else," Buffy teased over her shoulder. She made it two steps out the witches' door before she saw Tara, the blonde witch lingering near the never ending line for the bathroom. "Oh, hey, Tara," Buffy greeted her, deliberately loud enough so that Willow could hear it through the open door. "Willow wanted to see you if you have a minute," she requested, grinning as the witch shook her head and swatted at the Slayer's arm.

Willow gave her a grateful look as Tara came into their room and shut the door behind herself. "You wanted to see me?" Tara asked, smiling only once she saw the smile on her wife's face.

"Always," Willow agreed, covering a yawn.

Tara moved to the bed, starting to come to Willow's side before the redhead patted the side Tara normally slept on. "Ready for bed?" Tara asked, moving toward the other side of the bed.

"I'm ready for you to be in here with me," Willow stated, grimacing down at her shoulder. Tara struggled to get her shirt unbuttoned with one hand and Willow couldn't help laughing. "Lean over," she coaxed. "I'll help you." She gave the blonde a wink. "I'm good at this, remember?"

"You are," Tara agreed, laughing. "We're quite the sorry pair with our arms like this."

Willow leaned up as much as she could and gave Tara a quick kiss. "We are a great pair, even with our arms like this."

"I didn't mean…" Tara started, shivering as Willow's hand slipped up over her shoulder, the touch deliberately soft, putting no pressure on her bruises. It took a second for her to realize that Willow's magic was sliding just as gently through the strained muscles, stealing the pain as she withdrew. "You didn't…" Tara said, already knowing that it was done.

"Of course I did," Willow confirmed. "I'm not having my wife be uncomfortable." Tara slipped the sling off her arm, stretching her arm gingerly. "Better?" Willow asked.

"Yes," Tara answered, lifting one hand toward Willow's own shoulder. "Now, you sit still," she directed.

Willow moved away from her touch, groaning when it pained her shoulder. "No, Tara, it's too much," she protested.

"Stop it," Tara said firmly. "I'm not letting my wife be uncomfortable," she repeated Willow's statement. "Now, you stay still."

Willow nodded, letting Tara's hand settle on her shoulder before she spoke again. "You're hot when you're all…" She stopped with a gasp as her collarbone sealed itself, her eyes squeezing closed.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked, her voice surprising Willow with her proximity, breath warm against her ear.

"I'm fine," Willow breathed. "Thank you."

Tara nodded, coaxing Willow down to lay flat on her back. She pressed herself against her wife's side, leaning on her previously injured shoulder. The redhead blinked up at her as she leaned over to look at her face closely. "Does your cheek still hurt?" she asked tenderly. Willow nodded without speaking and Tara pressed a kiss to it, scattering more over the bruised skin and letting her magic take her lover's pain.

Willow moved her jaw testingly as Tara lifted her head, the blonde moving her next kiss to her lips. Willow lifted her head to chase her lips, pushing herself up on her elbows to get even closer. They were both breathing hard rapidly and Tara reluctantly pulled back, one hand on Willow's chest to stop her from following. The blonde tested the flush of her wife's cheek with the back of one hand. "You're a little warm, sweetie," she said, smiling teasingly. "And we just got out of the hospital," she reminded her softly.

"Okay," Willow agreed reluctantly. She let her head fall back, her hand finding Tara's on her chest. "What would you…" She hesitated, trying to think of the best way to put it. "What about…"

Tara smiled down at her, feeling her wife's rapid pulse through her chest. "Are you okay?" the blonde whispered, her thumb moving in soothing circles over Willow's shirt.

"I want you to go," Willow blurted, blinking as Tara stiffened, her hand freezing against the redhead's chest.

Tara paused, drawing in a deep breath before she spoke. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, Willow's hand holding hers still, her fingers bumping the redhead's wedding band.

"It's about to get bad here," Willow said. "Really bad, Tara. I'd feel a lot better if I knew you were safe, away from here."

"You want me to leave you?" Tara asked, the tone of her voice offended and confused. "Willow…"

"Not like _that_!" Willow disagreed. "I just don't want to lose you, Tara."

"So asking me to leave you is, what, an attempt to keep me?"

"I want you to be safe," the redhead countered. "I want to protect you…and Dawn."

Tara turned onto her back, Willow holding onto her hand and turning with her. "That's low, Willow," she said to the air. "Using Dawnie to get me to go."

"I need to know you're safe," Willow protested.

"It's not going to work," Tara stated. "Not even for Dawnie. I'm not leaving you. And Dawn won't leave Buffy." She turned her head to look at her wife. "Are we done with that?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You're not mad, are you?" Willow asked.

Tara pursed her lips, shaking her head. "No. I know why you wanted me to go and I can understand that."

"And I can understand why you told me no," Willow agreed. "We're okay?"

"Of course we are," Tara assured her. "Come here," she requested, pulling on her wife's hand until the redhead slid over and curled into her side. Willow's hands tucked Tara under the covers with her, both knowing that their room's privacy wouldn't last for long until the potentials were bursting in for something or other.

Tara forced herself out of bed in the afternoon, hoping that she might be able to go back to sleep at a normal hour that night. Willow was still asleep, but the others were awake and planning around the dining room table. Giles had come up with a theory about the source of Buffy's scythe and Buffy was helping him with his research while Faith practiced with their weapon.

"Where's the wifey?" the dark-haired Slayer asked as she moved down the hall past the descending witch in a series of dancing jabs and jukes with the scythe. "And aren't you supposed to be wearing a sling?"

Tara shrugged, her hand moving unconsciously to her previously injured shoulder. "Oh, Willow fixed it."

Faith grinned, her own injuries already healing from her Slayer abilities. "That's cool. I'm sure you thanked her appropriately."

"Faith…" Tara said warningly, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Her shoulder is feeling better."

"I'm sure that's not all that's feeling good," Faith continued her teasing, taking Tara's swat to the back of the head good-naturedly.

"Where are Anya and Andrew?" the witch asked, giving Dawn a smile.

Buffy didn't look up from where she was reading over Giles' shoulder. "They went to get supplies. The town's pretty much empty. They went to liberate some stuff from the grocery store."

"And what are you doing?" Tara asked.

"Research on our shiny new blade," Buffy answered. "We've got a lead. I'm going to go check it out."

"Alone? After all the over protectiveness from last night?" She gave the Slayer an amused look and Buffy had the grace to shrug, grinning.

"Technically, it was this morning," Buffy corrected. "Does that mean you're offering to come with me? Will might not like that, Tara."

"I'll come too," Faith chimed in. "Field trip. And I can watch T's back."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Because I was just going to stand around and watch her get hurt," she agreed sarcastically.

Tara laughed, curling an arm through each of the Slayers' arms, dragging them out the door. Buffy was the only one who knew where they were going, and the other two followed her across town and into one of the many graveyards, the Slayer searching for a specific crypt in the dimming afternoon sunlight. She found the one she was looking for, all of them surprised to see that there were torches burning along the walls as they entered.

"You sure this is the right one, B?" Faith asked, keeping her voice down and slipping a knife from a hidden sheath in her sleeve and the Slayers spread out, keeping Tara cautiously behind them. An old woman appeared from behind a curtain, smiling uncharacteristically in the face of the obviously armed pair.

"Hello," she said, voice soft. "I've been waiting on you for a very long time." Her eyes traveled between Faith and Buffy, the Slayers lowering their weapons uncertainly, knowing instinctively that she wasn't a threat. "And we never expected two of you." She looked at Buffy directly. "It's a rare occasion that someone comes back."

"Twice even," Buffy muttered under her breath. "So, you were waiting on us? For how long?"

She smiled, her hand clasped in front of her. "We were here before the Slayers. I'm glad to see you found your scythe. It should have been yours long ago."

Buffy looked down at it, spinning it in her hand. "Thanks, I guess. It's very…effective," she said, smirking sideways at Faith.

"I have much I need to tell you," the woman started.

"What are you?" Faith interrupted, frowning.

The woman smiled, not annoyed by the dark-haired Slayer's attitude. "My people were the Guardians. There were many of us, but we've waited a long time for you to come, and now it's just me. We existed long before the race of Slayers were made, but…" Her words were cut off suddenly and she looked down, slumping as blood spread around the blade of the knife that had appeared in her chest.

Caleb stood up behind her, shoving the Guardian's body off of his knife. Buffy moved forward, catching the corpse and tossing the scythe into the air as Faith jumped over her, catching the axe and punching Caleb simultaneously as he leapt to intercept it.

"Tara," Buffy called, hauling the body back with her as she stumbled toward the witch. "Stay back," she warned, not waiting for Tara's reaction before she was throwing herself back into the fight. Caleb was strong, but he wasn't prepared for two Slayers at full strength. So he went after the weak link, pushing Faith out of the way and going for Tara.

Buffy snagged the scythe from Faith as Caleb ran full-tilt into Tara's shield, the witch's hand raised to hold him back. "You don't want her," Buffy challenged. "You want this."

The priest shifted his shoulders, glaring at them as Faith groaned and rolled herself over. "Actually, it's been a while since I killed such a dirty one as a witch. It would be a good day to kill another witch. Good practice for killing you."

"You're not gonna touch her," Buffy stated flatly. "You can try and hit me though." He rose to her challenge, their blows lightning fast. "Get Tara out of here," Buffy ordered Faith, grateful when the other Slayer didn't argue, but obeyed, getting to the witch and getting them out the back of the crypt.

Faith wasn't watching where they were going, her attention on the fight behind her, and they ran into someone right outside. Faith turned, pulling Tara behind her quickly. "Faith! It's us!"

Angel's familiar voice snapped her attention to their present location and she blinked at him. "Buffy…"

He was gone a heartbeat later, leaving the three women staring after him. "He never changes, does he?" Willow asked Faith, the pair exchanging looks.

"Not about her," Faith agreed, snorting. "Angel's never going to change about her." She realized that she was still holding Tara's arm as the redhead cleared her throat pointedly, her own arms crossed over her chest.

Tara gave her wife a look, but Faith let her go, the two witches drawn to each other helplessly. "What happened in there?" Willow asked, curling an arm around Tara's waist and turning her into the moonlight so she could see that there were no new scratches on her wife's face.

"Caleb was there. He came in the back, snuck up on the Guardian," Faith answered. Willow's expression was questioning and Faith continued, "She's some old lady that made the scythe. She said she was waiting on us." She shrugged, looking almost guilty. "She said she had some stuff to tell us, but she got stabbed before she could."

"Should you go back and help Buffy?" Tara suggested.

Faith waved it off. "Nah. She's got the big guy backing her up. He'd get staked before he'd let anyone hurt her." She gave the witch a look. "What are you guys doing out here anyway?"

"Angel showed up at the house," Willow answered. "He had some stuff to give Buffy."

"Like what?" Faith asked.

Willow shrugged, lifting the file folder in her free hand. "This. And some ugly necklace." She grimaced. "I hope it's not a present, because his tastes have definitely changed. And not for the better."

Tara and Faith laughed as Buffy and Angel joined them, the Slayer's scythe dripping thick black blood. "Is my imminent being killed amusing?" Buffy asked, shaking the blood off with a grimace of disgust.

"You're not dead," Faith pointed out. "And Angel was there to watch your back."

"Yeah, and I'm still not entirely sure _why_ he's here," Buffy said. "But that's not to say I'm not glad to see you," she added, standing on her toes to kiss Angel quickly.

He pushed at the back of his hair uncomfortably. "Oh, yeah. Me too."

"But you're not here just to see me," Buffy guessed. "What's up?"

"I brought you some intel," he answered. "And I'm here to help." He pulled the necklace from his jacket pocket and dropped it into Buffy's hand.

She stared down at it, raising en eyebrow at him. "Um, thanks Angel, but this is sort of…I mean, it's really sweet of you…"

"It's for me," Angel interjected.

"Oh, well, that's…I mean, as long as you're happy with it…" Buffy said slowly, her eyes traveling between her friends. "But not perfectly happy, of course."

"It's to help you," Angel said. "It's mystical or something. A champion has to wear it. Someone more that human, but with a soul. I'm not… I actually have something I needed to talk to you about, about the 'being perfectly happy' thing…" Buffy nodded, frowning as Faith and Willow both smirked. "It's sort of not an issue anymore," he said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, frowning around at the others, her eyes landing on Willow as the witch couldn't help giggling, trying to cover her glee with one hand. "What did you do?" she asked breathlessly, trying ferociously to squash her hopes. No one spoke and she couldn't stop herself. "Willow…"

The witch just shook her head, biting back a smile and guiding Tara back a few steps to give the Slayer and vampire some privacy. Faith got bored quickly and snagged the scythe away from Buffy's uncaring hand and started sparring an invisible enemy for amusement.

Tara and Willow chose to be less conspicuous, walking quietly among the gravestones. Willow kept glancing over at her wife in the dark and the blonde pulled them to a stop, facing her and spreading her arms to either side. "Go on," Tara prompted.

Willow blinked, smiling uncertainly. "Um, baby, what…"

"You've been trying to check on me, make sure I'm not hurt, so here you go," she offered.

Willow lifted both hands to Tara's shoulders, tracing down the length of her arms and gently guiding them back to her sides. She stepped closer, smiling as Tara's arms curled around her waist while she traced the blonde's features carefully, inspecting the skin for any scratches. "How's your arm?" Willow asked considerately, leaning forward and resting her head against the good shoulder.

"It's a little sore," Tara confessed, catching Willow's hand as she started to lift it. "It's not that bad, sweetie. And you need to concentrate more on yourself. How's your arm?"

"A lot sore," Willow answered. "But not broken, so it's still good."

Tara sighed, knowing that she couldn't completely heal Willow's arm without serious spell work, and going overnight from broken to sore was considerable, but she still wished it was something she could do for her wife. Right now it just wasn't an option. Especially since they'd both declared their intentions to not leave the Hellmouth, regardless of what came out of it to swallow them.

The night sounds of the graveyard were almost peaceful, Faith's battle against an imaginary enemy the only disruption. So they noticed when her imaginary enemy was suddenly cursing in British. "What are you doing here, Spike?" Faith demanded, tugging the scythe out from where it was stuck in a tree at neck height, Spike ducking below it and still cursing.

"Not looking to get my head cut off!" he shot back an answer. "I came to help _you_!" The noise was enough to draw Buffy and Angel, the two vampires immediately facing off. "So, the ponce is back," Spike stated, crossing his arms.

Angel growled in his chest. "They haven't killed you yet?"

Spike just looked smug, shaking his head. "Not bloody likely! The lady witches even put my soul back. And I'm entitled to all the perfect happiness I can get!" He jumped as Faith slugged him in the shoulder. "Oww!"

"You're both ridiculous," Buffy chimed in flatly. "Angel, give Spike the necklace."

"What?" he demanded at the same time Spike did. "Buffy…"

"You're going back to L.A. If I can't finish this here, I'm going to need someone to run the second line," she ordered him.

He glanced around at the others, Spike making no effort to hide his smirk. "Buffy, I'm with you. I'm here for you."

The Slayer nodded, meeting his eyes. "I know that, Angel. And it means a lot to me," she said, lowering her voice with a glance at the others. "But it's exactly why I need you to go. There's no one else I trust to watch out for whatever comes next if this goes badly." He swallowed thickly, nodding reluctantly. She could feel his hesitation and leaned up to kiss him.

Willow exchanged glances with Faith, the Slayer shrugging. They both knew how Buffy and Angel were together. "So I'm the big, strapping hero now?" Spike asked, disrupting the moment.

Angel growled again, one arm curling around Buffy's shoulder as he gave Spike a glare. "_He's_ your champion?" he asked doubtfully. "Buffy…"

She swatted his chest, pointing firmly at Spike. "Shut up," she directed firmly. "Angel, you don't have a choice on this," she told him. "You're going back to L.A." She took the necklace from him and put in in Spike's hand.

Angel pulled her back, giving them some distance from the others and lowering their voices to have a private conversation. Spike was inspecting his new prize and he gave Willow a doubtful look. "You know, maybe being a champion or whatever isn't all it's cracked up to be. It seems like it would be right up the ponce's alley."

"Buffy said you're doing it," Willow reminded him. "For _some _reason," she said, giving him a look.

"What is he doing?" Faith asked, crossing her arms over her chest while the scythe leaned against her leg.

Spike frowned, holding the big necklace up in the moonlight. "I imagine I'm going to have to wear this big, ugly, piece of crap and do something heroic and impressive."

Buffy joined them just then, Angel already disappeared into the darkness, melting away as soundlessly as he ever had. "We got a plan?" Faith asked her, shrugging him off as Spike curled an arm over her shoulders.

"We're going to end this," Buffy said flatly.

"What's that mean?" Faith asked.

"Sounds kind of ominous, Slayer," Spike added.

"It's worse than that, isn't it?" Willow said, looking at her friend closely.

Buffy nodded. "We're going into the Hellmouth. We're opening the seal and we're going in there to finish this."


	15. Chapter 15

Xander and Anya were sitting on the foot of Buffy's bed, the witches on the bed behind them, all of them staring at the Slayer with their jaws hanging.

"That is absolutely not a good plan," Anya stated flatly.

Buffy was leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "It's the plan," she said. "The First has been getting stronger everyday. Right now though, it's lost its lieutenant. It's off balance. Now's the perfect time to strike."

"But Buffy, you and Faith can't kill everything that's down there on your own," Xander pointed out. "And the potentials are coming along, but going down there is just going to get them killed."

Willow cleared her throat. "I can try and work something to make them stronger," she offered.

Buffy shook her head. "You're still not over your shoulder," she said. "I don't want to push you too far."

"I can't sit around and do nothing, Buffy," Willow replied. "Just let me try."

Buffy and Giles exchanged looks and she nodded. "Just let me know what you need."

"We could use the scythe," Tara said, glancing around the room. "You said you feel something when you hold it, right?" Buffy and Faith looked at each other, nodding. "It might not be anything we can use, but it's worth a try."

Buffy swallowed, stepping forward and handing the scythe to Willow. The witches excused themselves to their room, leaving the others to plan logistics. There were sleeping bags all over the floor and dirty clothes everywhere so Willow kicked a space clear and settled herself on the ground.

"How are you going to do this?" Tara asked, sliding to her knees in front of her wife, the scythe on the carpet between them.

Willow shrugged, taking a deep breath. "Try and figure out why it reacts to Buffy and Faith. If we can find something that connects it to the Slayer line, we can try and go from there." She huffed in frustration. "I don't have any more ideas, Tara." Her eyes found Tara's. "And I know we've already talked about it, but words cannot describe how much I wish you were somewhere safe right now."

Tara pursed her lips and shook her head. "Willow…" The redhead nodded, leaning forward to put both hands on the weapon. Tara met her halfway, giving her a quick kiss. "It's sweet that you care."

Willow rolled her eyes. "You're my life, Tara. Of course I care!"

"What can I do to help?" the blonde asked her, one of her hands on Willow's cheek.

Willow shook her head under the touch, sighing. "I have no clue what I'm doing. You can help with that." She smiled weakly, leaning into Tara's hand.

"Anything you need," Tara said. "Let's see what we can find with the scythe," she prompted.

She put her hands alongside Willow's on the long center shaft of the weapon, eyes meeting before they closed them slowly, both drawing in deep breaths. Tara could feel Willow's power join her own, the sensation making her heart beat faster. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that Willow was smiling, and she laughed quietly.

They each searched, feeling for any glimmer of power, anything that might lead them to anything that could help. Willow took a break as stretching her arm started to strain her shoulder. She blinked in surprise as she realized that Buffy was standing near the wall, watching with her arms over her chest. "How long have you been there?" she whispered, one hand rubbing at her shoulder.

"It beats pacing in my room," Buffy said, shrugging. "How's it coming?"

Willow sighed, glaring down at the axe. "I can't find anything. You're here now, though."

"What do you need me to do?" Buffy offered, moving closer.

"Give me your hand," Willow said.

Buffy blinked, looking at her hand and then at Willow. "Tara's right there," she said slowly.

"Not for anything like _that_," Willow chided. "Let me hold one hand and put the other hand on the scythe."

Buffy laughed, shaking her head. "It's been a long day."

"Obviously, if you think I'm hitting on you," Willow commented, rolling her eyes at her friend. They joined hands and each touched the scythe again. The weapon reacted as Buffy touched it, humming in Willow's mind. Tara's eyes popped open, feeling it as well, and she pulled her hands back.

"Did you guys get something?" Buffy asked, seeing the reaction. "Anything?"

Willow was breathing hard, her head hanging forward. "Wow," she gasped. The feeling of Buffy's power was beyond anything she'd ever felt before. Simultaneous gasps from Tara and Buffy drew her eyes up from the axe.

"Willow…" Tara breathed, and the redhead realized that she was floating.

She jerked her hand back, falling backwards as she fell to the floor. "What was that?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Buffy said. "What was that, Will? How come Tara didn't float?"

"I wasn't touching you," Tara realized. "That's what was different. I could feel part of it, but not all of it."

Buffy looked back and forth between them. "So, what does that mean?"

"That means I have a pretty crazy idea," Willow said, pushing herself up. The other two just stared at her, waiting for her to speak, and she drew in deep breath. "I can wake them up." Buffy and Tara exchanged looks and Willow continued. "The potentials…"

"Wake them up how?" Buffy asked.

"Their powers. Give them their powers," Willow said.

Buffy's eyes widened, the Slayer sucking in a surprised breath. "You can do that?"

Willow nodded breathlessly. "I can now." She gestured to the scythe. "With this. Any girl that's got the potential to be a Slayer will be."

Buffy stood up suddenly, pacing. "Okay, so how long do you need to get it done?"

Willow shook her head, looking at Tara. "It won't be exactly easy, but I can be ready whenever you are."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, then here's the plan," she said. "I'm going to go talk this stuff out with Giles and you two are going to stay in here and get some sleep. We'll move out in the morning. Night time will give whatever comes out of the seal an advantage. We want daylight on our side." She stopped walking to give them a smile. "Kennedy took the girls over to Xander's for the night. Faith and Spike are babysitting."

Willow cocked her head at her friend, not quite grasping the meaning of that. "Isn't it a little cramped over there for all of them?"

"Yeah, I guess so, but we've got the house to ourselves for the first time in about six months, so I find myself caring less than I normally would." Willow still wasn't getting it, and Buffy shook her head, biting a smirk back. "More importantly for you and Tara, you have your bedroom back. Completely private…"

Willow finally reached that realization, blushing even as she smiled, glancing sideways at Tara. "Oh, um, well, thanks, Buffy," she said slowly, her ears burning. "You can go away now," she added.

The Slayer grinned, picking up her scythe. "So much for gratitude! And I'm taking this so you don't think about working!"

"Not much chance of that," Tara commented, drawing surprised looks from both women, though Willow looked excited under her surprise.

"Good night!" Buffy offered cheerfully, the axe on her shoulder. "And just so you know, Xander and Anya are on the couch, so just be aware before you go downstairs in the morning," she warned them.

The door shut with a click behind her and Willow fell back flat on the floor, laughing helplessly. "What's funny, baby?" Tara asked, one hand tracing down Willow's leg from knee to foot, pulling on the redhead's shoestrings and loosening her sneaker.

"Mmh, what are you doing?" Willow mumbled, stretching on the floor, her head rolling from side to side.

Tara laughed quietly, rubbing Willow's foot gently. The redhead groaned as Tara pressed more firmly. "This okay?" the blonde whispered.

"Better than," Willow agreed. Tara was surprised then when Willow pulled her foot from the blonde's grip. "But if this is our privacy we're spending here, I've got a few more things in mind."

Tara smiled, knowing exactly what was going through her lover's mind. "Oh, you do? Like what?"

"Nothing that can be done in front of anyone," Willow stated, leaning up on her elbows.

"So I should lock the door?" Tara teased.

Willow laughed. "They know better," she said. "And I think it's past time you were closer to me."

Tara bit her lip and slid forward an inch at a time. "I'm only three feet away now, Will."

"That's too far," Willow said, her hand getting hold of Tara's wrist as soon as it was in range, pulling her and sending them both falling backward.

Tara laughed, swatting at Willow's arm as they both shifted onto their sides, facing each other. "Don't hurt your arm, sweetie."

"You're still too far away," Willow complained, her hands pulling her closer while one leg curled over Tara's knees.

"How close is close enough?" Tara asked softly.

Willow squirmed impossibly closer, her face burying itself in Tara's shoulder. "You know that too," she said, voice barely a whisper. Tara tilted her head to reach Willow's ear, nipping the shell before closing her lips over the lobe. Willow sucked in a breath, hand trembling against Tara's back. Her fingers tightened in Tara's shirt and she whimpered into her wife's chest as Tara's kisses moved down her neck. "Kiss me," she whimpered, biting her lip hard.

It took her a second to pull off of Willow's skin, one hand snaking up to the redhead's shoulder and rolling her onto her back. "I am," Tara breathed in her ear before reattaching herself to the lobe, bracing herself on her elbows with her body pressing Willow into the carpet.

Willow's hands dragged up her back, gripping her hair and pulling her back. She didn't speak, just lifted her head and kissed her hard. Her fingers flexed in blonde hair and then relaxed. Tara's tongue found a cut on the inside of Willow's lips where she'd bit through it, but Willow wouldn't let her pull back.

Only when they were both short on air did Willow let her go, Tara's head on her chest as she tried to catch her breath. "Your lip is cut," Tara gasped.

"Don't care. We've got tonight, don't want to waste it."

Tara lifted her head, frowning. "I'm with you on that, but this is some kind of 'last night on earth' thing we're going to have a talk."

"No!" Willow protested. "That's not what this is, Tara. We're going to be fine tomorrow. I'm not going to lose you."

Tara swallowed, still breathing hard. "You promise?"

"I promise," Willow stated immediately. She wrapped both arms around her wife's shoulders and gently guided them up so that she was sitting and Tara was between her knees. "Let's get in bed. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Tara took a deep breath and stood up, holding onto one of Willow's hands. Willow stopped her before they got under the sheets to toss her clothes off, quickly doing the same to Tara and steering them under cool sheets. They lay in silence, the quiet charged as they both thought of what was going to happen tomorrow.

"We should get some sleep," Tara whispered, glancing down at her when Willow shook her head.

"I don't want sleep. I want you." She pushed herself up on her arm, looking down at Tara. "Is that okay?"

"Perfect," Tara answered, kissing her slowly.

* * *

Despite their best intentions to sleep late, they were all up early the next morning. No one spoke, just sipped their coffee and picked at soggy cereal. Buffy was leaning against the wall, idly spinning the scythe on the point of the stake. They all looked up when the front door opened to admit the potentials, Faith and Spike's bickering announcing their presence.

"We ready to do this?" Faith asked, swiping the axe from Buffy and twirling it over her fingers.

Buffy looked at Willow, getting a nod from the witch. "I think so. Are you all ready?" Her eyes traveled around the room, all of the girls tense and pale. A few were bouncing on their toes while a few more were slumped and trying to hide trembling hands. The rest just looked scared.

"We're ready," Faith stated, exchanging a long look with Spike.

"What's the plan beside trying to take a few of those ubervamps down with us?" one of the girls chimed in.

Willow leaned forward against the kitchen island, her head against her crossed arms. Tara put a hand on her shoulder supportively as Buffy cleared her throat. "We're going to get you the same strength that Faith and I have."

Someone snorted. "How are you going to do that? Kill yourselves?"

Faith rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "You wish. Me and B aren't going anywhere."

"So what then?"

Buffy pointed to Willow, explaining the plan in as much detail as she could. The finale was greeted with stunned silence. "That's going to work?"

Willow lifted her head slowly, nodding. "It will," she said with a confidence she didn't entirely feel, Tara's hand still on her shoulder and she reached up to cover it with her own.

The Slayer let the silence linger for a long moment, drawing attention as she slapped on hand to her thigh. "Alright, we're wasting daylight. Everyone weapon up and we're moving out." She gave Willow a reassuring smile, patting the witch on the shoulder as she took up a spot on her other side.

Willow nodded, pushing Buffy toward the others, knowing the Slayer had more to worry about than her. Faith gave her a lingering look and moved on, squeezing Tara's shoulder supportively. Willow slid her fingers through Tara's, squeezing her hand as she stood up. "You stay with me when we get to the school. You don't go anywhere without me, okay?" Tara's mouth opened and Willow shook her head. "Tara, I need you to come through this."

The blonde gave her a smile, her thumb brushing Willow's knuckles as she pulled her hand up to kiss the back of it. "I'm with you, Willow. No matter what."

"Good, thank you," Willow sighed, running through a mental list of everything she might need once they got to the Hellmouth. Buffy had an elaborate plan about where everyone was positioning themselves in the school, about what needed to happen when to ensure that most of them made it out of the pit. Giles had gone through what Angel had brought, but none of them were able to figure out what the medallion might do to Spike, just that it was mystically very powerful.

The town was abandoned, the people of Sunnydale finally recognizing that something bad was going on. The potentials were chattering nervously, looking around the empty school building, but the Scoobies were silent, withdrawn into their old memories of the school, the Hellmouth below it. Willow was holding her hand, but Tara knew her mind was somewhere else and she gave her wife a final squeeze of their fingers before she moved off toward the office, following Robin's directions. Buffy gave Dawn and Anya their assignments, the ex-demon giving Xander a lingering kiss, followed by a punch to the arm.

"You don't die," she ordered him firmly before she stomped off with Andrew. Xander swallowed thickly, watching her go without speaking and he had to clear his throat, both eyes blinking furiously.

Buffy started to say something to Dawn, but the teen put up one hand to stop her, shaking her head. "I don't want to hear it, Buffy. Anything you say to me is going to sound like 'goodbye.'"

The Slayer nodded hesitantly, resting one hand on her sister's shoulder. Their eyes locked and Dawn covered Buffy's hand with her own, letting the moment linger before the teen broke contact and marched off to her position in the surface defenses.

As Dawn disappeared from view, Buffy spoke over her shoulder. "I need you to protect her, Xander."

"I will." His voice was rough, hoarse, and she turned to meet his eyes, giving him a reassuring nod.

Each of their eyes moved around the group, the four of them who'd faced down so much together, suffered so much.

"So, what do we want to do tomorrow?" Buffy spoke first, their leader as always.

"The mall?" Willow suggested, trying for a light tone.

"I do need some new shoes," Xander added.

Giles scowled, his arms crossed over his chest. "Really? The mall?"

"We're saving the world," Buffy stated. "We deserve some shopping fun!"

"Fine," he relented, giving her an undeniably fond glare. "We'll shop." The other three grinned at each other, in that moment forgetting what they were leaving to face, ignoring the chance that they might not all make it back, and were merely best friends, making plans for their weekend. As Giles watched, Xander's arms curled over Willow's shoulders and around Buffy's waist. There were no hugs or fussing as Willow split off from the group to join Tara in the office, just a momentary locking of eyes as Xander and Buffy continued on to their missions. "The Earth is definitely doomed," Giles stated to himself, turning his back only once Buffy and Xander had disappeared around the corner.

Willow's composure cracked once she was in the office, shutting the door behind herself. Her throat felt thick, but she swallowed the feeling down and closed her eyes while she forced herself to be calm. It only lasted for a second, though, and Tara was smiling softly at her when she opened her eyes, taking a shaky breath. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are." Tara had already set up the spell Willow had designed, though they both knew that the power and intent behind it were much more important that the symbol on the floor or the words Willow said. Tara watched her double check everything without speaking. Finally, the witch took her place, on her knees in front of the scythe.

Tara was still standing, knowing that she couldn't help Willow with this. The redhead looked up at her, their eyes locking. "Tara…I…" Words failed her and she blinked, breathing deeply and praying that Tara could read her eyes, see everything she couldn't say.

"I know," Tara said softly, almost a whisper. "Me too, Willow."

There was nothing left to say and Willow blinked, breaking their stare. "Once it's over, and the spell's done, you know what to do, right?"

"Take the scythe to Buffy and then back here to you," Tara recited, smiling crookedly.

"And we run for our lives as needed," Willow finished, settling her hands against her knees. There was a rumble as Buffy opened the seal below them, the walls trembling around them. Willow glanced nervously around and gave Tara a look. "If this building starts coming down, whether I'm done or not, you get out of here. Don't wait for me."

The blonde just shook her head, stepping over the circle of Willow's spell and leaning over to kiss her. "Never going to happen," she stated as they separated, Tara taking two long steps back and curling her arms around herself.

Willow's last sight before she closed her eyes was Tara and she let the vision linger in her mind for a moment before she dragged her focus back to the spell. Both hands settled on the scythe, her magic able to find the Slayer's power inside it much easier since she knew what it felt like. She pushed in deeper, feeling the generations of girls who had wielded it before. Their faces floated through her head, their battles and ultimate defeats. Buffy was in there too, and Faith, their powers irrevocably tied to the power inside this weapon. Reaching further, Willow could feel the girls out there that were meant to follow her friends, the ones who would take their place when they fell. Kennedy was there, and Rona, and Vi, Annabelle, all the girls who'd been using up all her hot water, and leaving their clothes all over her floor. And beyond them there were more, more girls all over the world, in every country and every age. They were linked to this great power and they didn't even know.

Until they did. Willow could feel it as she channeled the power through herself, distantly feeling her own body float up from the ground while Tara gasped. The Slayers' power extended, growing as the girls fighting in the Hellmouth woke up and took what was theirs. It touched the other girls she'd seen all over the world and woke them up as well, surging through their blood and Willow did what she could to let them know what had just happened to them, touching their minds with hers and letting them see what they were, who they were meant to be.

Her head fell back as the scythe did its thing and she realized that she could barely catch a breath. The last girls were reached but she was still connected, could feel everything and she let herself linger in the white heat of the Slayers' energy for a long moment before she withdrew, her body floating slowly back to the ground.

She was sweating, could feel the beads sliding down the back of her neck and down her cheeks, and she let herself meet Tara's eyes. "They're Slayers," she gasped, barely able to hear herself speak over the pounding of her heart in her ears.

"You're a goddess," Tara breathed, staring at her in wonder for a long moment before Willow managed to pry her own fingers off the scythe and she remembered her task. "I'll be back."

"Be careful!" Willow said firmly, one hand rising to her head and she laughed tiredly. Tara left quickly, sealing the office door carefully behind her so that Willow would stay safe while she was gone. Willow didn't notice, slumping to her side on the floor. "That was neat," she observed to no one, letting herself rest.

There weren't any vampires that had gotten past the Slayers yet, but the Scoobies and Wood were still scattered around the school to keep them from getting out. The scene was much more chaotic under the school. Everyone was fighting and there were bodies everywhere. The army of Turok-Han seemed never ending, hordes of them climbing up out of Hell while the Slayers struggled to hold their ground. Faith and Buffy were easy to spot though, fighting back to back in the middle of the chaos.

Tara yelled her name, but Buffy couldn't hear her over the sounds of the battle. Kennedy appeared at her elbow though, grinning excitedly even in the midst of the fighting and ignoring the blood that was rolling over her face. "I'll get it to her," she said, yelling in the witch's ear to be heard. "Kiss your wife for me," she added. "This is amazing!"

Tara blinked, both of them caught off guard as a group of the Turok-Han shoved past them to get to the surface. They didn't attack either woman, hurrying to escape the pit. "I've got to get to Willow," Tara shouted at her, pushing the scythe into the young Slayer's hand. Buffy looked up just in time to see her, taking a brutal blow for her distraction, but Kennedy leapt back into the fight eagerly and started slashing her way through to Buffy.

Tara was gone the next time the Slayer looked up for her, Kennedy's nod telling her that Willow's spell had been a success. She barely had the scythe in her hands before she was passing it off to Faith, her hands occupied by trying to hold her own blood inside her body. She didn't even see where the strike had come from, but the new hole through her side was painful and throbbing. No one seemed to notice as she collapsed forward and she remembered that it strictly didn't matter if she died anymore. The potentials were no more, instead they were Slayers. They had received their birthright and she could rest again. Then Faith and Spike were there, dragging her up between themselves.

"No giving up yet, Slayer," Spike said, the necklace he was wearing starting to glow. "You've got to lead the troops out of here." She started to protest and he gave her an uncharacteristic serious look. "Tell Dawn I was all heroic and stuff, alright?"

The reminder about her sister was like a splash of cold water and she nodded. "I will." She pushed herself off of them, standing on her own two feet. "Faith?"

"I'll come, but just…give me a minute," she requested, looking at Spike.

Buffy nodded, feeling the earth tremble around them as the Hellmouth was unleashed for the first time in thousands of years. It was only starting to test the limits of its now gone tether. It wouldn't take long before the school above and the city around them were overtaken, daylight or no daylight. Faith handed the scythe back to her counterpart and they locked eyes for a long moment, nodding before Buffy was moving toward the incline of earth that led back to the surface.

She had to fight her way back up it, feeling her blood soaking into her shirt with every second. A rumbling crack drew everyone's attention, Slayer and vampire both, to their surroundings and Buffy signaled her troops to withdraw.

They weren't alone on the surface, more Turok-Han following them and some already prowling the halls. Xander and Dawn were dirty and bloody, but whole, and they joined the retreat. Giles was supporting a heavily bleeding Robin Wood, but the Watcher was limping himself, blood flowing from a cut somewhere on his leg. It took them all a few minutes to find Andrew and Anya, their section of the school having suffered a collapsing roof that had trapped Anya. Xander and Buffy got her out, the carpenter carrying his wife out of the wreckage.

Tara and Willow weren't in the office as they passed and Buffy groan in anxious frustration, needing to find her friends before the whole place came down. The entire school bucked just then, sending several of them sprawling and crashing into walls. The Slayer thought she heard a noise though, and she gestured for quiet. It did nothing and Xander whistled sharply. This time they all heard it and Buffy waved them toward the exit as the sound of another honk echoed. There was a rumbling school bus at the curb and Xander and Giles lead the girls toward it. Tara was behind the wheel, Willow sprawled across the seat directly behind her.

Buffy lingered at the school's doors, waiting for Faith and Spike to make their appearance. The school was shaking again without slowing down, and Dawn called for her sister from inside the bus. Finally, there was a figure visible through the dust and darkness in the school, Faith waving them forward even as she burst at a full-tilt run from the school. Tara obeyed, the tires screeching away from the curb as she steered them out. Buffy and Faith were sprinting to stay ahead of the collapsing earth and Willow and Xander forced their way to the back of the bus to get the back door open.

Buffy pushed Faith from behind while Xander pulled, sending them both sprawling back into the floor. The effort cost Buffy a few yards of distance and she struggled to catch up. "Tara! Slow down!" Willow called, trying to give Buffy time to get to them. She leapt at the open door even as the earth crumbled away beneath her feet, and Tara floored the bus again, larger sections of the road disintegrating from below their tires.

The bus was straining to meet the speed she was demanding from it, and Willow planted one hand on the floor of the vehicle, using sheer willpower to force the straining wheels to spin faster. She could only hold the effort for a minute though before she fainted, slumping on top of Buffy in the center aisle of the bus.

The boost gave them the distance they needed to escape the pit that was growing behind them, Giles on his feet to give Tara directions on the straightest shot out of town. The ground's disintegration was slowing as it radiated out from the Hellmouth, finally stopping just inside the town limits. Tara parked the bus a dozen yards from the edge of what had grown into a crater and stood up from her seat, scanning the huddled girls in the bus.

It was only when she couldn't find Willow that she called out her name. "She's here," Buffy groaned, trapped under her best friend's unconscious body. "She fainted." Xander guided her up, the witch stirring as he lifted her and Tara was there, smiling as Willow's eyes blinked open.

"There's my pretty girl," Willow said, not quite aware of their surroundings.

Tara touched her face gently, the skin pale and slick with sweat. "I'm here. You fainting like that scares people though, sweetie," she said. She noticed the blood that had soaked through Buffy's shirt and into Willow's and her eyes fell to the Slayer. "Give her to me," she instructed Xander quickly, gesturing to Buffy as he started to protest. Willow was shaky on her feet, but wrapped both arms around Tara and leaned on her while Xander got Buffy to her feet.

"I'm good," the blonde Slayer started to protest, lifting her shirt to show the hole in her side. "It's already healing, I think." Her eyes found the wreckage of her town out the back window of the bus and moved silently to the back, hopping down out of the still open door.

The potentials, now Slayers, were chattering excitedly among themselves and the Scoobies followed their leader, each quiet as they stared into the hole that was all that was left of their home. "What happened down there?" Willow asked softly, both arms still wrapped around Tara.

Buffy's eyes flickered to Faith as she took a deep breath, waiting for her counterpart to speak. "Spike, the necklace. It was like pure sunlight. It-it used him, burned them all up…" Her voice was hoarse and she cleared her throat. Faith turned and put one hand softly on Dawn's shoulder, the teen crying quietly. "He's a hero."

Dawn hiccuped a laugh through her tears, smiling sadly. "He told you to tell me that, didn't he?"

Faith shrugged, hesitating for only a moment before she curled her arm over Dawn's shoulders. "Yeah, but it doesn't mean it's not true. He was a hero."

Dawn nodded, meeting her sister's eyes before she leaned her head against Faith's shoulder. "So, what now?" she asked, still looking to Buffy and it occurred to the Slayer that they all were.

"I guess shopping is out since we destroyed to mall," Xander commented, Anya in his arms.

"All that money…" she groaned, her head falling against his chest.

"All those shoes," Buffy agreed. "We might have made a mistake."

"We didn't _know_ that the town was going to collapse," Willow pointed out. "I don't think we can be blamed."

"There's another Hellmouth in Cleveland," Giles interjected, recoiling as all of his wards turned their heads to glare at him. "Not to spoil the moment," he covered for himself.

"We saved the world," Xander said, in awe as he stared out over the hole.

Willow spoke from Tara's side, voice hushed as she thought about what they'd done. "We changed the world. I can feel them, all over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Giles said.

Faith turned her head to look at him. "Can I push him in?" she asked of no one in particular.

"You've got my vote," Dawn chimed in from beside her.

"I just want to sleep, G-man. For like a week!" Faith stated. "I don't know what the rest of you want to do, but that's my vote."

"I guess we could," Dawn agreed, grinning. "I'll change my vote."

"I want to have a baby," Tara said suddenly, surprising them all, and Giles had to catch Willow as she stumbled and fell straight back. The blonde witch had one hand over her mouth, covering her laughter as Willow stared at her, eyes wide and jaw hanging.

Giles helped her back upright and kept a hand on her shoulder to keep her steady. "Now, _there's _a plan for you," Xander commented, grinning happily.

"Tara, what-really?" Willow stuttered.

"I don't think that one is something we can all do though," Faith observed, grinning wickedly. "I'm still on the sleep plan," she said, lifting one hand.

"You want a baby?" Willow asked, ignoring the others while she stared at Tara. The blonde nodded, losing her breath as Willow hit her in a rush, arms tight around her as the little redhead spun them in tight circles. "God, I love you," Willow gasped into her neck, kissing her deeply as they stopped turning.

"So, we've got two votes 'baby' and two votes 'sleep,'" Xander said, laughing. "Now, I love you both, but I'm afraid I'm going to throw my vote in with 'sleep' at the moment. Buffy?"

The Slayer was listening to everything going on behind her, but she was still facing her crater, everything that was left of her home. Except that it wasn't. The people surrounding her were still with her, still meant everything to her, and she felt a smile come to her lips.

"You're not the one and only Chosen anymore," Faith pointed out, having a feeling she knew exactly what was going through her elder Slayer's mind. "Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Feels great," Buffy whispered to herself, ignoring the throb of pain in her side. Finally, she turned to face her friends, her family, and she let them see her smile, the same expression appearing on each of their faces as they realized that it was true.

Whatever came next, their only obligation was to live like a person. Wherever they went next and whatever they faced, they were together.


End file.
